BUSM4504 Semester 1: Weekly Reflection on HRM and Workplace Safety

This student's reflective journal explores key themes in Human Resource Management (HRM) over several weeks, focusing on the development of professional competencies, industrial relations, and workplace safety. The reflection begins with an overview of the broad scope of HRM and its e...Read More

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Weekly Refection
Student’s Name
University
Course
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Date

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Weekly Refection
Human resource management is a broad concept that entails different areas that
professionals have to deal with in organizations (Rimanoczy & Pearson 2010, p. 15). As the role
of human resource managers evolves in the modern business environment, human resource
professionals are regarded as a strategic group with different roles within the organization. This
means that the skills covered in this unit play different roles in my career as an individual
preparing to address organizational and employee challenges that I will meet in the course of
work.
In the second week, the key theme was industrial relations which are exploring the issues
that revolve around the workplace. This includes the ability to develop turnover management
abilities and conflict resolution within the workplace. Workplace challenges vary from
organization to organization since every organization has its own culture and way of doing things
(Wylie 2018, pp. 3). This means that the way the workplace is managed depends on how people
relate to each other. Further, Bray, Waring & Cooper (2011, p. 11) add that conflict management
is an integral element in human resource management since it leads to the ability to resolve
organizational related issues that lead to conflict between employees or employees with the
workplace. In most cases, workplace conflicts the biggest challenge that most employers and
employees face. Since organizational resources are limited, managing such resources to meet the
needs of employees becomes difficult since organizations have to distribute these resources and
at the same time ensure that vulnerable groups like women and people with disability are not
exploited.
These themes are important in my future career as a human resource person since I have
to learn how to address organizational issues as they arise. As a human resource manager, this

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role entails mediating the needs of the organization and that of the employees (Mitsakis, 2014, p.
159). This means that with the knowledge that I have gathered in this weekly reading, I have
developed the ability to explore different workplace issues that can boost the overall
performance of the organization. I will achieve this by developing appropriate human resource
practices and creating conditions that allow greater utilization of employee potential.
In the third week, the major focus for the week was on the development of the required
human resource competencies required in the modern world. This entails the ability to have key
professional competencies like communication skills, negotiation and decision making. This
entails the role of professional bodies in setting standards and values that need to be observed by
practitioners. For example, the HR Institute of New Zealand sets professional codes of conduct
that determine how professionals are supposed to conduct themselves in the work environment
by observing appropriate workplace behaviors. This entails values, ethical practices and even a
professional code of conduct that determines how the work environment is described and the role
of each professional. This leads to the development of global or universal characteristics that
shape workplace relationships.
Michelson & Kramar (2013, p. 138) suggest that these skills are important in the
workplace since they define the role and relationships that I will have with other professionals
within the workplace. Professional competencies shape my future practice since they will be
used to measure my ability to achieve the role that relates to the human resource management
role that I will be holding in the organization. This means that a human resource management
professional, skills like communication, negotiation, knowledge of workplace behaviors and
decision making are important in my future career. Suresh (2011, p. 369) argues that by
understanding the code of ethics, the requirements of the field and the role of the human resource

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managers, I will be able to meet the needs of the organization and at the same time individual
employees through establishing standards and requirements that meet the needs of the
organization and practice. Thus I have to learn how to create conditions that allow these
standards to be developed and applied in the organization. Further, I have to ensure that the
competencies developed have to be linked to organizational goals by ensuring that human
resources are strategically aligned to the needs of the organization.
The main focus of chapter four was the development of cultural competencies in
organizational settings by working with people from different cultural backgrounds. This is an
element of embracing diversity and understanding that society has people from diverse cultural
backgrounds that need to be respected and accommodated. According to Podsiadlowski,
Groshke, Kogler, Springer, and Zee (2013, p. 163) diverse workplaces offer better advantages
since they create an environment that allows the organization to utilize the varying of
competencies of such employees. Cultural competence knowledge is an important element of
human resource management since it addresses the needs of diverse employees that the
organization works with. This means that human resource managers need to develop cultural
competencies that allow them to understand the needs of the cultural needs of the organization
and at the same time align the cultural competencies of the hum resource teams towards
organizational goals.
As a human resource manager, cultural competence knowledge is important in addressing
organizational and employee needs by linking them together. This means that I have to ensure
that the organizational practices, policies, and requirements accommodate the cultural
differences that exist in the workforce. Thus my focus will be creating workplace dimensions
that are not limited to one aspect but rather to include other cultural elements like age, gender,

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ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, marital status, and even geographical background. According
to Patrick & Kumar (2012, p. 6) argues that diversity differences exist in the organization
depending on the nature of the individuals and the attitudes that they have towards diversity.
Thus this approach will impact my approach to human resource management since I have to
develop appropriate competencies for varying needs of employees. As a practitioner, cultural
competence knowledge is important in meeting the needs of the organization since it leads to
increased organizational benefits and employee satisfaction.
In week five the main focus was on putting human resource knowledge in practice by
addressing issues that affect employees. One such issue is addressing labor standards and
conditions that employees work. the role of human resource professional is to address any
challenges and risks that employees may face in the organization by developing policies and
legislation that affect the employees. In a diverse environment, organizations have different types
of employees thus requiring proper legislation to meet such needs. Further, human resource
practitioners need to have the ability to identify issues that challenge employees and develop
proper measures for addressing them. Park (2016, p. 97) adds that this process means that human
resource managers need to identify the environments that their employees work in and develop
the best conditions for meeting the needs of such employees.
As an aspiring human resource manager, this skill is important in my practice since it is
one of the factors that will be used to measure my success. The role of human resource managers
is to create conditions that allow employees to thrive and work efficiently by putti structures in
place to address the issues that employees face (Kim & Park 2013, p. 85). In the workplace,
employees arefaced with different issues like loss, grief and trauma among others which may
affect their productivity. Thus as a human respruce practitioner, this unit has empowered me with

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knowledge to deal with such issues in the workpalce when they arise. This means that the skills
that I have developed on human resource practices are important in addressing employee related
issues that affect productivity, motivation and even the health of the employees. These skills will
make me a better human resource manager with the ability to develop workplace conditions for
solving employee health-related issues and boosting performance for organizational
effectiveness.
The sixth week addressed strategies for creating and sustaining safe and healthy
workplaces. The human resource management role is not only tied to recruitment and pay issues
of employees but rather it is a strategic unit in the organization for identifying risks, flaming
mitigations and at the same time ensuring that the human resource management is aligned to the
strategic organizational goals. For Park (2016, p. 44) this means that the human resource persons
must identify the conditions that the employees work in, the risks that such environments pose to
them and ensuring that the organization observes the established standards for such workplaces.
This means that my role in such circumstances is to develop sustainable healthy workplaces that
address and reduce the challenges that employees face. Through ensuring that the organization
observes industry regulation for the protection of the employee, this role is beyond the normal
human resource management role since it focusses on the safety needs of the employee by
ensuring that the work conditions reflect the global requirement standards.
These skills are important since they make me a workplace advocate who focusses on
ensuring that organizations reflect the legal requirements of the industry. Thus as a professional,
I have developed adequate skills for analyzing workplaces through the use of different tools like
the hierarchy of control to assess the risks in the workplace and propose strategies or addressing

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such risks. Thus, I feel like I am ready to walk into any organization and ask for work since this
leads to increased work outcomes.
Therefore, from the five weeks, I feel I have developed appropriate skills and
competencies for addressing workplaces issues that I will meet in the course of practice. As a
professional, the competencies developed in the five weeks play an integral role in my human
resource management career by placing me at the center of the organization to mediate the needs
of the organization and those of employees.

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References
Bray., M., Waring, P. & Cooper, R., 2011. Employment Relations: Theory and Practice. New
York : McGraw Hill.
Kim, S. & Park, J., 2013. A study on the role of safety and health of supervisors in small to
medium-sized industries. Journal of the Korean Society of Safety, 8(2), pp. 84-87.
Michelson, G. & Kramar, R., 2013. The State of HRM in Australia: Progress and Prospects.
Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 41(2), pp. 133-148.
Mitsakis, F. V., 2014. Human Resources (HR) as a Strategic Business Partner: Value Creation
and Risk Reduction Capacity. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 4(1), pp. 154-
170.
Park, K.-O., 2016. Human resource factors associated with workplace safety and health
education of small manufacturing businesses in Korea. Journal of Occupation Health, 60(1), pp.
94-101.
Park, K., 2016. Organizational factors associated with safety and health managers' educational
needs in Korean manufacturing industry. Korean Public Health Research, 42(1), pp. 41-52.
Patrick, H. A. & Kumar, V. R., 2012. Managing Workplace Diversity: Issues and Challenges.
Sage Journals, 10(5), pp. 1-15.
Podsiadlowski, A., Groshke, D., Kogler, M., Springer, C., Zee, K.V., 2013. Managing a
culturally diverse workforce: Diversity Perspectives in organization. International Journal of
Intercultural Relations, 37(6), pp. 159-175.
Rimanoczy, I. & Pearson, T., 2010. Role of HR in the New World of Sustainability. Industrial
and Commercial Training, 42(1), pp. 11-17.
Suresh, S., 2011. Ethical Issues in Human Resource Management. Management and Labour
Studies, 36(4), p. 367–370.
Wylie, B., 2018. Prove you’re more than blonde hair’: Australian Women reveal ‘shocking’
inequality at work. ABC News.