HRES 2201: Reflective Paper on HRM – Strategic Role and Challenges

This reflective paper explores the modern concept of Human Resource Management (HRM), emphasizing its evolution into a strategic role within organizations. It discusses key HRM processes and practices, such as workforce planning, rewards and recognition, performance management, and employee training and development. The paper also addresses critical workplace issues, including work-life balance, gender distribution, generational differences, and diversity, and how these concerns impact employee performance and organizational culture. The author's perspective on HRM has shifted, now viewing it as an integral and crucial part of an organization's success. The analysis underscores the importance of HRM in fostering a conducive work environment and aligning employee performance with organizational goals.

Running head: REFLECTIVE PAPER
REFLECTIVE PAPER
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The given report is based on the modern New HRM (Human Resource Management) concept.
The field of HRM has changed considerably and it is due to this reason it is very important for an
individual to remain updated with all the perspectives. The report follows a structured format
whereby the concept of HRM has been explained which is then followed by the processes and
practices involved in HRM. The second half of the paper concentrates on the various issues
arising due to Key Demographics and employment concerns. Lastly, certain my perspectives of
the same have been presented.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Application to workplace.................................................................................................................3
Key demographics and employee concerns.....................................................................................5
Concern........................................................................................................................................6
Manner in which my thinking was impacted...............................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References and Bibliography...........................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Human Resource Management can be rightfully defined as an integrated set of practices,
processes, systems as well as programs in a workplace which tends to focus on the development
as well as deployment of the employees in an organization. The Human resource function forms
a critical function of an organization and it is highly concerned with the people management.
During the study and class discussions, we have discussed the concept of Human Resource
Management and along with a discussion of the concepts and processes, various new ideas
related to the subject were also discussed. These ideas related to the increasing strategic role of
the Human resource function and its tendency to act as a Strategic Partner for the organization.
Earlier, the function of Human resource was quite limited in nature, however, after the
discussion of the new ideas, I believe that the role of Human resource management in an
organization is not this limited and that at present the human resource department acts as a
strategic partner for the firm.
As a strategic partner, the different HR executives tend to assist the senior management
during the strategy formulation stage. As a strategic partner, it is important for the HRM to
contribute because, they can deal and suggest the required skills and other members which will
be required to achieve those goals. Hence, their role is crucial and based on this trend, my views
about the subject have changed considerably and I now consider the HR department of any firm
to be an integral part of the business at large.
Application to workplace
The given section will be discussing certain workplace processes or practices which the
Human resource is responsible for at a workplace.

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1. Planning for recruiting and selecting the workforce: The Human resource department
of the organization is responsible for the planning for the recruitment as well as selecting
of the workplace. The recruitment as well as the selection of the workplace means hiring
the right employees for the right position in an organization. As stated earlier, the human
resource manager is largely responsible for filling in the different positions which are
present at the workplace. When the HRM department plans for the recruitment as well as
planning, they are strategically assisting the firm to get the right workforce.
2. Rewards and Recognition: The rewards and recognition forms an essential aspect of an
organization and helps the firm in maintaining the existing workforce and ensuring that
they are successfully able to motivate them and help them to perform better. The rewards
and recognition programs include various award functions, bonus, appraisals and other
activities in order to ensure that the present employees are satisfied with their current
work.
Figure 1: The Processes and practices of HRM Function

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Source: (Bratton & Gold, 2017).
3. Performance Management: The Performance management function forms an essential
aspect of the organization whereby the different employees are assessed as per their
performance in the organization and measured against various basis which helps in
assessing their overall performance in the organization. Performance Management forms
an essential part of the organization as it goes a long way in ensuring that the
performance of all the employees are aligned towards the organization goals.
4. Orientation, Training and Development: The human resource department of the
organization is largely responsible for the orientation, training and development
functions. The orientation, training and development involves ensuring that the
employees who are new in the workplace are successfully able to abide by the operations
and its ways. In addition to this, the training and development function is very crucial for
the firm as it is an icebreaker for the different employees
5. Employees within a diverse environment: Lastly, the primary process of the HRM also
involves to manage the diverse employees as present in the workplace. At present, the
business environment has become highly globalized and due to this, the workforce has
become highly diverse in nature and it thereby lies the duty of the HRM, to ensure that
these diverse environments are managed well.
As an employee in the organization, these processes may go a long way in effecting my
daily operations as the rewards and recognitions program would motivate me and lure me to
perform better. The performance management program would correctly assess my daily
performance and as a new employee the training and development would go a long way in

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assisting me to perform well during my initial days. Moreover, the hiring procedure will be my
step towards the organization.
Key demographics and employee concerns
Issues arising
The key issues which can arise in a workplace are as follows:
 Balancing work life and family: The balance between work life and family tends to play a
crucial role in any workplace as work life balance tends to play a key role in the firm.
 Gender distribution: The gender distribution also tends to form an integral issue being
faced by the workplace as the unequal distribution tends to have a strong impact on the
psychology of the workforce.
 Different generations at work: At present this problem is one of the largest problems
being faced by the people at large as the different generational diversity causes conflicts
in a workplace.
 Diverse background: The diversity as present in a workplace also tends to play a key role
in creating issues at the workplace.
Concern
These issues may contribute towards becoming a huge concern for the organization as
they will have an impact on the daily performance of the employee. The problems like the
balance of work life has a direct impact on the wellbeing of the employee. Moreover, other
issues like gender distribution, diversity and generational difference affect the office
environment which can either motivate he employee or cause hindrance with respect to their
performance.

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Manner in which my thinking was impacted
After analyzing these different workplace issues and the different concerns on how the
employees are impacted by these issues, my perception of these issues have been affected
considerably. I believe that as a HR Manager, it needs to be the main motive of the organization
to see to it that these issues do not have a long term impact on the performance of the employees
and that the work environment is conducive in nature.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis it can be rightfully stated that the Human resource
function in an organization has a key role to play. Primarily as per the new trend, the human
resource department needs to act as a strategic partner to various decision making aspects in a
firm and contribute towards ensuring that the employees are performing well. My perception of
the human resource management has changed considerably after undertaking the course and
previously I understood HRM to be a key function of an organization but not a critical one,
however, at present, I perceive the Human resource management as an integral and crucial part
which is necessary for the welfare of the organization.

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References and Bibliography
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Brewster, C., Chung, C., & Sparrow, P. (2016). Globalizing human resource management.
Routledge.
Brewster, C., Mayrhofer, W., & Morley, M. (Eds.). (2016). New challenges for European
resource management. Springer.
Chelladurai, P., & Kerwin, S. (2017). Human resource management in sport and recreation.
Human Kinetics.
Collings, D. G., Wood, G. T., & Szamosi, L. T. (2018). Human resource management: A critical
approach. In Human Resource Management (pp. 1-23). Routledge
Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., & Jiang, K. (2014). An aspirational framework for strategic human
resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 1-56.
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R., & Kynighou, A. (2016). Human resource
management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.
Reiche, B. S., Harzing, A. W., & Tenzer, H. (Eds.). (2018). International human resource
management. SAGE Publications Limited.