Human Resource Management Practices and Impact on Organizations

Explore the purpose, functions, and effectiveness of HRM practices in organizations. Understand the importance of employee relations, employment legislation, and recruitment strategies. Discover how HRM influences productivity, profit, and decision-making.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO1..................................................................................................................................................2
P1 Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing an organization...........................................................................................................2
P2 explain the strength and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection...4
LO2..................................................................................................................................................6
P3 Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organization for both the
employer and employee...............................................................................................................6
P4 evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organizational
productivity and profit.................................................................................................................7
LO3................................................................................................................................................10
P5 Analyze the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-
making.......................................................................................................................................10
P6 identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
decision- making........................................................................................................................11
LO4................................................................................................................................................13
P7 illustrate the applications of HRM practices in a work related context using specific
example......................................................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Strength and weakness of mode of recruitment................................................................4
Table 2: Training and development differences..............................................................................7

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Human resource management..........................................................................................2
Figure 2: Internal vs. External recruitment......................................................................................4
Figure 3: Effectiveness of HRM......................................................................................................7
Figure 4: Concept of training...........................................................................................................8
Figure 5: Employee rights.............................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management has become important part of businesses today. This is because the
tertiary sector is increasing and do not produce goods but only render different kinds of services.
for this purpose, the management of human resource is quite important. The abbreviation used
for human resource management is ‘HRM’. HRM is a step towards the different levels of
hierarchy of management. It focuses on the delegation and decentralization of authority and
responsibility. It is necessary to manage the human resource and motivate them because now
day’s businesses have high competitiveness. Through HRM we can achieve the objectives set for
the organization. Effectiveness and efficiency of the employees can also be achieved through
HRM. Here in this report we will study about the various factors involved in the concept of
HRM.
HRM is a wide subject and requires to be understood by every manager. Its importance is being
realized in the businesses in the recent years. The organizations set up a different department for
human resource because it is very crucial and needs human resource professionals for handling
and managing the department. Today, organizations consider their employees as an important
resource and take all the necessary steps to satisfy them. So, we can say that human element
plays an important role in every company.
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LO1
P1 Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing an organization.
Human resource management is a huge department of a company which is concerned with the
employees of the company and the concepts related to them like, hiring the employees, managing
the staff, training and development of employees and providing them proper working conditions.
It emphasizes. It is wide concept and requires lot of effort and time (Cascio, 2018). Every
company either large or middle sized has separate department for human resource management.
HRM is concerned with providing proper safety and security measures also to the company. It
has to carry out all the activities that prove to be beneficial for the employees.
Figure 1: Human resource management
(Source: Talent management with HRM, 2018)
Human resources management helps in keeping a healthy environment at a business place. They
are responsible for solving the disputes of employees with each other and also the organization.
They are responsible for bringing out best from the employees (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). In
general terms we can say that it is human resource management means to employ the employees,
utilizing and developing their skills and to mould their skills according to the requirement of the
organization.
Scope of Strategic HRM
Human resource management has wide scope. It has been explained below-
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 Analysis and design of a job position- job analysis and designing is the process of
gathering information regarding a particular job, analyzing the gathered information and
interpretation of the data in practical terms. It is the process of defining the duties and
responsibilities related with the job.
 Recruitment – the process of recruitment starts with advertising for the job in different
forms of media like newspaper, radio, magazines etc. then come selection. It is the
process of selecting the candidate from the number of candidates available (Sparrow et.al.
2016).
 Orientation and induction- next in the series in the orientation and induction program.
Here, the employee is informed about the background, culture and working pattern of the
employees. We can say it is an introduction program of employee to the organization.
 Training and development- after the induction, the employee is trained according to the
requirement of the job (Brewster et.al. 2016). Training involves different methods. It is
done to improve the performance of the employee.
 Motivation- motivation is the process of encouraging the employees of the organization.
Motivation can be in monetary terms and non monetary terms. It is done to bring the best
out of the employees.
The concept of hard HRM & soft HRM
HARD HRM- it is the process where employees are treated just like other resources of the
company like machine, furniture etc. it emphasizes on the needs of business only and thus recruit
the candidate according to their need. It does not involve much communication between
employee and management. There is little delegation of authority and follows autocratic style of
leadership.
SOFT HRM- it is a kind of HRM which consider the employee as the most important resource
of the organization. Here employees are treated as a person and their needs are also taken care of.
In this kind of HRM employees are motivated and are focuses to achieve objectives (Michael,
2017). There is strong communication between management and its employees. it uses
democratic style of leadership.
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P2 explain the strength and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection.
Selection- it is the process of selecting a right person for right job at a right time. It is the process
in which large number of employees are interviewed and evaluated on the basis of their
qualifications and abilities needed for a particular job and then selecting the best suitable one.
Recruitment- recruitment is the process of advertising for the vacant position to identify the
potential candidates and to let them know about the job. It is a process that is basically done for
the search of candidate who has the ability and knowledge required for the job. A large number
of candidates who are in search of job are invited for the process of selection.
Figure 2: Internal vs. External recruitment
(Source: Modes of recruitment, 2018)
The strength and weaknesses of different methods of recruitment are-
Table 1: Strength and weakness of mode of recruitment
Methods Strength Weakness
Internal Internal process is the process
that recruits the employee
from within the organization.
The employees are the
The weaknesses of this type
of recruitment are that the
organization does not get
much option; also the other
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strength of this method of
recruitment. The existing
employees do not need any
training and also feel
promoted. This is cost
effective method of
recruitment (Alonso, 2015).
employees get discouraged
with the promotion of few. It
restricts the entry of fresh
talent into the organization
(Rees and Smith, 2017).
External External recruitment is the
process of recruiting the
individual from outside the
organization. The strength of
this method is that it invites
fresh talent into the
organization. The
organization has so many
options to select from. The
best candidate can be selected
from the potential candidates.
The weakness of this method
is that it requires lot of effort
and expenses. It is the
method. It is also time
consuming and long method.
Third party In this method a third party is
appointed for the selection of
the candidate. In third party
method, company has to
disclose its detail to a party
external to organization. But
it saves the time of company
(Alonso, 2015).
This method is also costly.
Also, the individual
appointed may not be
according to the requirement
of the company as it is
selected by third party.
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LO2
P3 Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organization for both the employer
and employee.
HRM is wide and quite beneficial for all the people in an organization. It has so many
advantages for both employer as well as an employee. These advantages are as follows-
Advantages for employees as well as employer-
Resolving conflicts- When too many people work in an organization at several positions that
arises conflicts. These conflicts can arise in between the employer and employees and amongst
the employees as well. HRM helps in solving these conflicts and also define a standard
behaviour for the employees (Meijerink et.al. 2015). HRM helps to bring cooperation between
the employees in an organization and they work in coordination. It helps in bringing good
behaviour. The resolution of conflicts is necessary to bring harmony and good working
environment in the firm.
Training and development- the strategic HRM is a subject which focuses on training an
development of employees. When a company uses this type of HRM technique then it organizes
training and development program for employees where employees gain knowledge and learn
many new things about the corporate world. The development programs help employees
throughout their career.
Employee relations- HRM helps in making better employee relations within the organization.
HRM brings the people of the organization together. It supports the employee. Those employees,
who feel that they are not provided rights in their job, are supported by the management. This
also avoids discrimination in the organization (Yang et.al. 2015). Employees who are being
harassed by their immediate boss can contact human resource manager and can lodge their
complaint. A special complaint desk is there in the organization that looks after these complaints
and resolves them.
Source of information- HRM helps in building strong communication between employer and
employee. To build a strong communication in an organization is the duty of human resource
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manager (Sanz-Valle and Jiménez-Jiménez, 2018). A good communication channel helps in
smooth flow of information in the organization. Information can be related to work, policies,
procedures, new targets etc.
Encouraging employees- one of the most advantages of HRM is that it motivates employees.
HR managers motivate their employees towards the work. This encouragement induces them to
perform better. The encouragement of employees is very necessary as it creates the interest of
employees towards the job.
Achievement of goals- HRM was introduced when it was discovered the employee is not just a
person but he is an important resource. The motivation of this resource towards the work helps in
better achievement of goals (Bell et.al. 2017). As the motivation brings out the efficiency of
employees and they work more effectively.
Figure 3: Effectiveness of HRM
(Source: Response of HRM to business, 2018)
P4 evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organizational
productivity and profit.
Difference between training and development
Table 2: Training and development differences
Training Development
Training is the process of making an employee
learns the skills required for the job. This
program is organized by the company itself to
Development is the process of overall
development of employee. It is not only related
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make the employee learn new skills and
abilities (Ford, 2014).
with a particular job of the employee.
It is a short term process and concerned with
only particular job.
It is long run process and is helpful for an
employee throughout his career.
It is organized by the company because they
derive the main benefit from it.
It is not organized by the employee. Employee
gets developed through the experience he gets
from his job of many years (Sundstrom et.al.
2016).
Training is an expensive and time consuming
process. Sometimes it requires a lot of
expenses to be made.
Development is a cost effective process. No
special cost is incurred for development of
employee.
Figure 4: Concept of training
(Source: Training in business, 2018)
Different types of training-
On the job training: On the job training is that type of training in which the employee is trained
while working. No special time is provided for training purposes. Also, company does not spend
any extra cost for the purpose of training an employee (Phillips and Phillips, 2016). This type of
training is preferred when company does not have a huge budget for training its employees. The
different types of off the job training methods are-
 Mentoring
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 Job rotation
 Coaching
 Apprenticeship
 Committee assignments
Off the job training: Off the job training is that type of training in which a special program is
organized for training the employees of an organization. This type of training is preferred when
organization can incur expenses on training programs (Karumbaiah et.al. 2016). There are
various methods of off the job training. They are-
 Classroom lectures-
 Audio-visual
 Simulation
 Vestibule training
 Case studies
 Role playing
Concept of reward management
Reward management: It is related with the formulating and implementing strategies and
policies. The main objective of this is to reward the employees for their improved performance in
the organization. Reward management is done to attract employees and encourage them to do
better. Rewards can be in monetary terms as well as non monetary terms. There are different
types of rewards are- bonus, incentives, shares, recognition in peers, etc.
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LO3
P5 Analyze the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-
making.
Maintenance of employee relations within an organization is very important. Good relations
between employees are necessary for the productivity and profit of an organization. Employee
relations help in minimizing the conflicts in the organization. The relationships in the
organization affect the working of the organization. It majorly influences the environment. Bad
relations may result in arousal of conflicts (Cascio, 2018). Strong relations are the result of safe
working environment, commitment of employees, monetary incentives provided to employees,
recognition of employees etc.
Figure 5: Employee rights
(Source: Sample image for rights of employees 2018)
Good working environment result in better satisfaction of employees. They feel positive in
organization. The organization faces many circumstances and these circumstances increase if the
working environment is not healthy (Shields et.al. 2015). Importance of good relations among
employees is as follows-
 Discipline- discipline in the organization is one of the outcomes of better employee
relations. The employees work in harmony and cooperation with each other. The better
the relations the more is the discipline within the organization.
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 Reduces absenteeism- if the employees feel happy in the organization then the rate of
absenteeism decreases in the organization. If the working environment of a company is
not healthy then the rate of absenteeism increases in organization.
 Reduced employee turnover- the turnover of employees increase in organization when
the environment is not healthy. The employees leave the working place when they do not
feel safe and happy while working in the company.
 Better productivity- the strong relations within the organization result in better
productivity of the company (Shields et.al. 2016). And the better the productivity the
more is profit. The productivity of employees is dependent on how they feel while
working.
 Reduces stress and conflicts- strong employee relations in an organization are necessary
to reduce the level of stress of the employees. An employee full of stress cannot work
efficiently in an organization.
 Solving employee’s grievances- the grievances of an employee can be solved in an
organization if the good relations exist in it. It is important to solve the grievances of
employees of employee otherwise it may result in employee’s turnover (Liu et.al. 2017).
P6 identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
decision- making.
There are various laws that come under the employee legislation. These laws govern the working
and pay scale of employee in a company. These laws are coordinated by the businesses for a
good decision making of HRM. These highly influence the decision making of any organization.
All the decision in organization are affected by the laws and legislation related to employees.
Employee’s legislation regulates the policies, health and safety measures, salary, wages etc
relating to employees (Chang et.al. 2014). Significant laws are framed for providing the safety
and security to employees in their job. There are various terms for which the laws are made.
They are-
 Working hours
 Employee harassment
 Safety and security measures
 Working conditions
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 Social benefit
 Trade unions and industrial relationships
Whenever the HR manager takes decisions regarding the jobs and the company’s working, then
they are controlled by the laws relating to employees. The most important decision is made
regarding the formulation of safety and security measures for the employees. These factors
provide the basic satisfaction to the employees. These measures should comply with the basic
requirement of employees (Guest, 2017). Legislation also looks upon the policies relating to the
payroll system of the company. Special provisions should be made for remuneration, perquisites,
benefit plans etc. HR managers are responsible for framing the policies and rules regarding all
the above measures.
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LO4
P7 illustrate the applications of HRM practices in a work related context using specific example.
Technology is though gaining popularity but it is not the only thing required in an organization.
An organization requires a good communication and purpose to remain connected with the
external factors. Also, it affects the way a person is recruited and the method of finding right
talent for the company.
Social media recruitment- recruitment can also be done through the involvement of social
media. Social media like Facebook, Whatsapp, and Twitter are becoming great source of
advertising for any job. It also includes interviewing through video calling, getting the
information of candidates through social media etc. The traditional methods have now been
eliminated and these new tactics are being used by the companies (Kim et.al. 2017).
Career pages and job boards- the application of technology has brought a lot of changes in the
working pattern of the companies. It is a good recruitment tool. Sharing of social media helps in
accessing the messages using mobile, using the personal information of people and also
recruiting and contacting people through that.
Mobile recruiting- it is one of the most beneficial means of recruitment in the company. This
provides better reviews to the candidates (Marchington et.al. 2016). It is highly advantageous.
Tracking system of the applicant- this method is gaining popularity and is highly beneficial. It
helps in deeply scanning the resume of the candidates; the details of the candidates are tracked in
depth. This might create confusion in the job seekers and may feel hurt. The best way to use it is
to track through the people who are experienced. They should take a thorough look into the
resumes which cannot feed into the accounts by application tracking system.
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CONCLUSION
As we have studied above HRM is a very wide subject. It is gaining importance with time. It
should be understood clearly by the managers of the company. Every company should set up a
different department for human resource and also separate professionals should be hired to
manage this department. This report is divided into four different tasks that look upon four
different aspects of the HRM. All the important aspects of HRM have been discussed in this
assignment. The HRM is a wide subject and therefore involves lot of issues. This report has tried
to solve almost all the issues relating to organization.
Various concepts like employees legislation, different methods of training, difference between
training and development, etc have been discussed above. Every company should understand the
growing significance of HRM and why it is becoming so important. The basic reason behind the
importance of HRM being realized by the company is that human resource is scarce and needs to
be managed in get into the situation of having no human resource.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alonso, R., 2015. Recruitment and selection in organizations.
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Bell, B.S., Tannenbaum, S.I., Ford, J.K., Noe, R.A. and Kraiger, K., 2017. 100 years of training
and development research: What we know and where we should go. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 102(3), p.305.
Brewster, C., Houldsworth, E., Sparrow, P. and Vernon, G., 2016. International human resource
management. Kogan Page Publishers.
Cascio, W., 2018. Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill Education.
Chang, S., Jia, L., Takeuchi, R. and Cai, Y., 2014. Do high-commitment work systems affect
creativity? A multilevel combinational approach to employee creativity. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 99(4), p.665.
Ford, J.K., 2014. Improving training effectiveness in work organizations. Psychology Press.
Guest, D.E., 2017. Human resource management and employee well‐being: towards a new
analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal, 27(1), pp.22-38.
Karumbaiah, S., Wright, R.T., Durcikova, A. and Jensen, M.L., 2016. Phishing Training: A
Preliminary Look at the Effects of Different Types of Training.
Kim, S., Tam, L., Kim, J.N. and Rhee, Y., 2017. Determinants of employee turnover intention:
Understanding the roles of organizational justice, supervisory justice, authoritarian
organizational culture and organization-employee relationship quality. Corporate
Communications: An International Journal, 22(3), pp.308-328.
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Liu, D., Gong, Y., Zhou, J. and Huang, J.C., 2017. Human resource systems, employee
creativity, and firm innovation: The moderating role of firm ownership. Academy of
Management Journal, 60(3), pp.1164-1188.
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R. and Kynighou, A., 2016. Human resource
management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.
Meijerink, J.G., Bondarouk, T. and Lepak, D.P., 2016. Employees as active consumers of HRM:
Linking employees’ HRM competences with their perceptions of HRM service
value. Human resource management, 55(2), pp.219-240.
Michael, F., 2017. Hard and Soft Human Resource Management Compensation Practices on
Employee Job Satisfaction. ORSEA JOURNAL, 5(1).
Phillips, J.J. and Phillips, P.P., 2016. Handbook of training evaluation and measurement
methods. Routledge.
Rees, G. and Smith, P. eds., 2017. Strategic human resource management: An international
perspective. Sage.
Sanz-Valle, R. and Jiménez-Jiménez, D., 2018. HRM and product innovation: does innovative
work behaviour mediate that relationship?. Management Decision.
Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., Johns,
R., O'Leary, P., Robinson, J. and Plimmer, G., 2015. Managing Employee Performance
& Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies. Cambridge University Press.
Sparrow, P., Brewster, C. and Chung, C., 2016. Globalizing human resource management.
Routledge.
Sundstrom, E.D., Lounsbury, J.W., Gibson, L.W. and Huang, J.L., 2016. Personality traits and
career satisfaction in training and development occupations: Toward a distinctive T&D
personality profile. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 27(1), pp.13-40.
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Yang, L.R., Chen, J.H., Wu, K.S., Huang, D.M. and Cheng, C.H., 2015. A framework for
evaluating relationship among HRM practices, project success and organizational
benefit. Quality & Quantity, 49(3), pp.1039-1061.
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