Human Resource Management in Australia: A Detailed Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices in Australia. It begins with an introduction to HRM, emphasizing its role in influencing employee behavior and organizational performance, and then moves on to discuss the reciprocal fit between HRM and organizational strategy in the Australian context. The report delves into strategic HRM, including the importance of strategic planning, SWOT analysis, and strategy implementation, highlighting the role of HR competencies and legal considerations. It further explores recruitment and selection processes, discussing the importance of identifying potential candidates and the use of various selection techniques. The report also addresses diversity management and work-life balance, emphasizing the benefits of diversity, the government initiatives, and the importance of providing employees with a balanced work life. The report concludes by referencing key sources related to the topics discussed. The report offers insights into various competitive challenges, including innovation, sustainability, globalization, and employee retention in the Australian context. It emphasizes the importance of training, employee participation, and the use of the balanced scorecard approach to improve organizational performance.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Authors Note:

1HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Human Resource Management in Australia:...................................................................................2
Strategic Human Resource Management:.......................................................................................3
The Legal Context for Human Resource Management...............................................................5
Recruitment and Selection:..............................................................................................................5
Managing Diversity and Work-life balance:...................................................................................6
References:......................................................................................................................................8

2HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Introduction:
Human resource management is the practices, policies and systems that influence the
behavior, performance and attitudes of the employees Individuals are seen as a social capital
as per the Harvard framework (Paillé, Boiral and Jin 2014). The strategic planning,
formulation and implementation had led to acquisition and organizational change. In 1912,
the 8 hours’ work shift was started in India and this practice was further adopted by Henry
Ford in 1914. In 1929 Dupoint designed the first ever multi divisional organizational
structure. Sir Aubrey Daniels coined the term performance management in getting people to
do what you want them to do (Sheehan 2014). The HR function has seen many faces of
evolution. People management irrespective of the shape and form it is in will continue to
evolve because the main function is to make people and organization more effective.
Human Resource Management in Australia:
The reciprocal fit between the human resource and organizational strategy is a crucial
factor for organizational success. In my organization, the HR professionals are responsible
for the HR planning through proper evaluation and forecasting the demand and supply for the
human capital. I have ascertained that maintaining the community and employee relations is
also very crucial for the growth of the organization. The composition of Australian workforce
consists of age, gender, employee values, ethnic diversity and structure of the economy, skill
deficiencies and various ethical considerations (Kramar 2014). There are various competitive
challenges that are influencing the management of human resource in the Australian
organization; this includes the challenge of HR innovation, sustainability, globalization as
well as retaining and attracting people.

3HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
It has been revealed as per my observation that HR practices always support work
systems of high performance that involves employee participation in the high performance
workplace. The ongoing training method in my organization is given more emphasis and
rewarded thereon. I think that the work processes and equipment should be structured in such
a manner in an organization so that interaction among employees and maximum flexibility
should be encouraged. The work designs help us, as an employee to use variety of skills.
This helps us to participate in planning changes in equipment, work methods and layout. In
my organization, balanced scorecard approach is used to indicate the profitability,
shareholder value and growth. Through balance scorecard method, the operating efficiency of
my organization has been improved which has further led to the empowerment of the
workforce (Tung 2016).
Strategic Human Resource Management:
The strategic human resource management is the planned HR activities and
deployments that help the firm to achieve its goals. It helps in assessing the skills of the
employees that is required to run the systems by engaging in HR practices through training
and selection process. The strategic choice is the ways and techniques of an organization that
is used for fulfilling the company’s mission and achieving long term goals. The major
components required for strategy formulation by an organization is its mission and goals
(Cooke, Saini and Wang 2014). The strategy to be implemented should be further analyzed
for achieving maximum profit. The scrutiny of the business environment is done through
SWOT analysis that is by ascertaining the strength, weaknesses, opportunity and threats for
the organization (Nyberg et al. 2014). This internal and external analysis of the firm helps in
making proper decision by the firm. In my organizations the managers and directors are
solely responsible for the implementation of the strategy. The various vital elements that

4HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
determines the growth of the organization through strategy implementation includes
organizational structure, task design, information system, selection, and development of the
people.
Moreover, as per my viewpoint, Reward system is also an important tool for strategy
implementation. The human resources practices needed for strategy implementation in an
organization include recruitment, performance management, job analysis, job design and
selection. The skills, culture and behavior of the employee is responsible for proper strategy
implementation in the firm. Role behavior is crucial for the job holders to work in the social
environment (Lucas, D’Enbeau and Heiden 2016). It varies according to number of
dimensions in addition to different behaviors and roles required through various strategies.
The directional strategies in my organization include concentration, internal and external
growth strategies. The process in my organization does not end here, the executed strategy is
then properly evaluated and the effectiveness of the strategy is monitored. The problems area
if present any is identified and alternative strategies if any present is developed. HR
competencies are essential for the strategic management of an organization. In many
developed organizations I have found that individuals are appointed as strategic positioners
for understanding and evolving the business contexts, requirement and other stakeholder
expectations. Credible activist are also common now a days in many firm to provide clear
idea about building the business performance. The major role of HR functions requires
professional, business, technical, integration competencies and change management.
The Legal Context for Human Resource Management
In the current scenario, understanding the legal environment is very crucial. The vital
requirement of this law is to facilitate good management practices, complying with the law
and doing right things required for the organization. I have ascertained that if the manager of
my organization sometimes makes a bad decision, both the HR department and the

5HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
organization‘s legal department is unable to solve the problem. This further leads to limiting
the potential liability of the firm. The legal environment as well the considerations can
influence the prospective, potential and current employee of the organization (Al Ariss,
Cascio and Paauwe 2014). I think this help in protecting from initial job placement,
discrimination in selection and initial compensation.
Recruitment and Selection:
Recruitment is the practice or process carried by the firm with the main objective of
identifying the potential individual for the jobs. The features of the vacancy available in the
firm are important for recruiting the sources for the required job. Vacancy present in the
organizations can be fulfilled through internal and external recruiting process. Direct
applicants or through referrals are common nowadays in most of the organization.
Advertisement, internet recruitment, public or private employment agencies and campus
recruiting are some of the common sources of attracting the potential candidates for the job
process (Miller, Xu and Mehrotra 2015). I think the recruiters traits that involve the warmth
and in formativeness is vital for recruiting process. As the potential candidates have certain
expectations about the company, job location, and the working condition of the organization.
One of my experiences while going through the recruitment process was very bad as the
recruiter was too rude that further lowered my self –esteem for getting a job.
Selection is the final and ultimate procedure of deciding that who will be allowed or
given the job in the organization. The selection techniques standard includes various vital
elements like reliability, validity, utility, generalizability and legality. Selection methods
within an organization are carried in various forms like interviews, which are structured,
focused and situational in form. Physical ability tests, personality test are also carried in
many organizations (Kramar et al. 2014). Selection is a negative process as the employees

6HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
not being selected are seen lowly in the society. For an instance, I had once difference of
opinion with my co-worker regarding absenteeism problem and how to overcome it. On
being experience enough I was able to resolve the conflict with my co-employee through
motivating him. Therefore it is vital that the individual getting selected should be adaptive,
reliable and have a positive attitude towards work.
Managing Diversity and Work-life balance:
Diversity management in an organization is the process or ways of managing people
differences and similarity in the workplace. This help in creating a business environment that
enables to contribute in increasing the organizational goals rapidly by providing equal
opportunity to all irrespective of age, gender, race or personal background. The government
has initiated Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) for the organizations to ensure that all
the people are provided equal opportunity in the firm for the employment process.
Moreover, women participation in the workplace is also increasing due to the laws
and government initiatives (Lucas, D’Enbeau and Heiden 2016). In March 2012, Equal
Opportunity for Women was also introduced within the Workplace Amendment Bill to
promote equal pay and gender equality. Diversity management provides the major source of
gaining competitive advantage through diversified workforce. Organizational performance is
improved through diversity management as the creative individuals potential are maximized.
As a result, innovative opportunities and ideas are generated through a wide range of
frameworks. Strategic initiatives further recognize diversity as a vital element for
organizational success (Aryee et al. 2016). In my organization diversity enlargement was
practiced to expand and increase the business. It is a technique that increases the
representation of groups with characteristics, like gender or ethnic background. Moreover,
diversity training is also provided in my workplace, which is a plan designed to change the

7HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
attitude of the employees about diversity. This help in developing skills of the employee that
is required to work in a diverse workforce.
Work life balance on the other hand is employee’s ability to earn adequate income
besides enjoying the family life (Ployhart et al. 2014). For instance, in my organization leave
arrangements were provided to the employees so that they are flexible in handling both their
professional and family life. In Australia the popular policies are job-sharing, flexible hours,
sick leaves, part time work and relocation services to promote family friendly programs. This
help in providing job satisfaction and improving employee morale that leads to increase in the
organizational productivity. Furthermore, I have ascertained that the manager should
understand the value of diversity and its impact on the organization to build and sustain
employment relationship.

8HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
References:
Al Ariss, A., Cascio, W.F. and Paauwe, J., 2014. Talent management: Current theories and
future research directions. Journal of World Business, 49(2), pp.173-179.
Aryee, S., Walumbwa, F.O., Seidu, E.Y. and Otaye, L.E., 2016. Developing and leveraging
human capital resource to promote service quality: Testing a theory of performance. Journal
of management, 42(2), pp.480-499.
Cooke, F.L., Saini, D.S. and Wang, J., 2014. Talent management in China and India: A
comparison of management perceptions and human resource practices. Journal of World
Business, 49(2), pp.225-235.
Kramar, Bartram, De Cieri, Noe, Hollenbeck, 2014. Gerhart, Wright, Human Resource
Management: Strategy, People, Performance, 5e , McGraw-Hill Education (Australia).
Kramar, R., 2014. Beyond strategic human resource management: is sustainable human
resource management the next approach?. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 25(8), pp.1069-1089.
Lucas, K., D’Enbeau, S. and Heiden, E.P., 2016. Generational growing pains as resistance to
feminine gendering of organization? An archival analysis of human resource management
discourses. Journal of Management Inquiry, 25(3), pp.322-337.
Miller, D., Xu, X. and Mehrotra, V., 2015. When is human capital a valuable resource? The
performance effects of Ivy League selection among celebrated CEOs. Strategic Management
Journal, 36(6), pp.930-944.

9HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Nyberg, A.J., Moliterno, T.P., Hale Jr, D. and Lepak, D.P., 2014. Resource-based
perspectives on unit-level human capital: A review and integration. Journal of
Management, 40(1), pp.316-346.
Paillé, P., Chen, Y., Boiral, O. and Jin, J., 2014. The impact of human resource management
on environmental performance: An employee-level study. Journal of Business Ethics, 121(3),
pp.451-466.
Ployhart, R.E., Nyberg, A.J., Reilly, G. and Maltarich, M.A., 2014. Human capital is dead;
long live human capital resources!. Journal of Management, 40(2), pp.371-398.
Sheehan, M., 2014. Human resource management and performance: Evidence from small and
medium-sized firms. International Small Business Journal, 32(5), pp.545-570.
Tung, R.L., 2016. New perspectives on human resource management in a global
context. Journal of World Business, 51(1), pp.142-152.