HRM & IR: A Strategic Approach to NZ Organizations' Challenges

This essay examines the organizational challenges faced by companies in New Zealand, including economic issues like poverty and government spending, as well as issues related to an aging workforce, diversity, and funding. It discusses the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) and Industrial Relations (IR) in addressing these challenges and gaining a competitive advantage. The essay highlights the importance of strategic HRM in reducing gender bias and promoting diversity, while also emphasizing the role of industrial relations in boosting employee productivity and revenue. Ultimately, the essay concludes that a strategic approach to HRM and IR is crucial for New Zealand organizations to overcome their challenges and thrive in the current business environment. Desklib provides similar solved assignments and resources for students.

Running head: ANALYSIS ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES IN NZ
ANALYSIS ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES IN NZ
Name of the Student
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Author Note

1ANALYSIS ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES IN NZ
Introduction
The essay is based on the analysis of the different challenges that are faced by the
organizations in New Zealand in the recent years. The country is facing many issues since the
year 2014. These issues include the economic issues, issues related war and terrorism and
many more. The most prevalent economic issues in the country are related to poverty and the
gap that exists between the poor and the rich people of the society. There are many other
issues that are faced by the people of New Zealand which includes the problems arising due
recession, the spending of the government (Zorn, Grant & Henderson, 2013). The shortage of
housing facilities for the citizens of the country and the increasing debts are other important
issues in New Zealand at the moment. Global warming, absence of values and empathy in the
citizens of the country have proved to be the major problems in the country.
Discussion
New Zealand is facing high rates of unemployment in the current situation, which is
one of the major problems that are faced by the organizations and the people of New Zealand
as well. The main problem is that there are many number of jobs available in the country,
however the organizations are unable to afford the employees with their present resources.
The poverty levels in the country have also increased in the recent years. The job market in
New Zealand is mainly dominated by the small sized and medium sized organizations.
Around 60% of the total employment opportunities that are available in New Zealand are
provided by the small and medium sized organizations (Albrecht et al., 2015). The supply of
funds in New Zealand had shown an increase till the year 2008, however this supply has
declined after 2008 and has become stable in the recent times. The supply of money in the
country impacts the capability of the organizations to pay the salaries and wages to the
employees. The debt of New Zealand is increasing steadily over the years after 2006. This

2ANALYSIS ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES IN NZ
has affected the ability of the people to meet their basic needs including food and housing.
The debt has increased by 38% in the years between 2009 and 2011 (Alfes et al., 2013). The
credit rating has also decreased in the recent years and this has compelled the country apply
for loans at interest rates that are much higher than the normal times. New Zealand is heavily
dependent on the other countries for its needs of oil and the crisis in this import facility poses
a threat towards meeting the basic needs of the people.
The managers of the organizations in New Zealand face many problems related to the
lack of funding and the inability to meet the needs of the employees in the organization.
Another big challenge faced by the organizations in New Zealand is the diversity factor. The
main challenge towards inclusion and diversity in the organizations in New Zealand is the
problem of bias. About 48% of the organizations in New Zealand identify bias as their main
concern towards diversity (Gelens et al., 2014). The primary concern of the management of
the organizations is the unconscious bias towards the employees. This hampers the process of
inclusion and diversity in the organization. Organizations in the public sector are more
affected by the bias problem. The gap in the payment of the employees based on their gender
is another problem that arises due to the problem of bias. The other issues that impact the
diversity in the organization are the wellness and wellbeing of the employees. The issue
related to the diversity in the private sector organizations is the flexibility. The increasing age
of the workforce of the organizations affects the operations of the company (Zorn, Grant &
Henderson, 2013).
The issue of aging workforce in the organizations in New Zealand have increased in
the recent years. The workers with the age above 65 years are increasing rapidly. 23.3% of
the total population of New Zealand is under the aging category. The regional variations
between the employees is also high and the people in some regions are found to ageing faster
as compared to the other regions. The population of New Zealand has been found to be

3ANALYSIS ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES IN NZ
ageing swiftly and they tend to stay in the organizations due to the lack of options or
necessity. This has posed a challenge on the organizations and they do not have any particular
policies that can address this problem (Kulik et al., 2014). This has reduced the flexibility in
the organization and strategies need to be developed by the organization to address this issue.
The organizations need to engage with the employees and the work process to improve the
productivity.
Human resource management or HRM is related to the functions of both private and
public sector organizations, which is related to the recruitment, selection and training of the
new employees. Many responsibilities are related to the HRM of an organization as discussed
further. The staffing function is performed to ensure that the right amount people with
adequate skills are employed in the recruitment process. The development of the employees
to increase their productivity and effectiveness is another major function of the HRM
department (Henderson, Cheney & Weaver, 2015). The amount of compensation that is to be
provided to the new employees according to the skills and the knowledge that they possess is
decided by the HRM department of the organization. The issues related to the health and
safety of the organizations is the responsibility of the HRM department. In the changing
business environment, the HRM department has to play some new roles as well. These roles
include the strategic decision making of the organizations and the HRM measurements that
are used to measure the value of the employees (Jackson, Schuler & Jiang, 2014).
On the other hand, industrial relations have posed as a complex issue for the
organizations. The industrial relations refer to the relation the employers have with the
workforce of the organization. The relationship of the employees with the management is
defined by the term industrial relations. The industrial relations within an organization are
managed by the HR Employee Relations Manager of the company (Jackson, Schuler & Jiang,
2014). The policies and procedures of the company required to maintain the relations with the

4ANALYSIS ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES IN NZ
employees are designed by the HR Employee Relations Manager. The disputes that arise in
the organizations related to the employees are also managed by the Employee Relations
manager (Kehoe & Wright, 2013). The healthy industrial relations within an organization
contributes in the success of the organization. The different aspects of the organization that
are affected by the industrial relations are uninterrupted production which is the main
function of an organization. The healthy relationships within an organization impacts the
production of the company. The disputes related to the industry are also reduced with the help
of healthy relations with the employees. The morale of the employees working in the
organization remains high if the relation with the employees is good (Kim et al., 2014). This
factor will help in increasing productivity and thereby motivating the employees. The mental
orientation of the employees towards the organization is another factor that impacts the
productivity and this is ensured by the good industrial relations. The wastage of the materials,
workforce and machines is reduced and the productivity is increased with the help of the
industrial relations with the employees (Sawitri & Muis, 2014).
The industrial relations within the organization and the functions of the human
resource department are linked with each other in many ways. The functions of the industrial
relations are to defend the labour interest and thereby the interest of the management (Marler
& Fisher, 2013). The role of the HRM department is also to ensure the interest of the labour
and the management. However, the most important function of the HRM department is
related to the recruitment and the selection process of the employees and training them as per
the requirements of the organizations. On the other hand, industrial relation does not play any
role in the process of recruitment and selection. The recruitment and selection process of the
organization is not related in any way with the industrial relation. It can therefore be said that
the role of the industrial relations comes into play after the HRM function (Mitchell, Obeidat
& Bray, 2013).

5ANALYSIS ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES IN NZ
The main problems that are recognized in the management of the organizations of
New Zealand are mainly the lack of diversity in the organizations, lack of enough funds to
pay the salaries and payment gap due to gender bias. The HRM department and the industrial
relations department of the organizations can play an important role in solving these issues.
The HRM department of the organizations have an important role in the strategic
management. The strategies need to be formed so that the gender bias can be reduced and the
organizations become more diverse. The lack of funds has occurred due to the fall in the
economy of New Zealand. This problem can be solved by maintaining good industrial
relations with the employees and motivate them to be more productive so that the revenues
increase and lack of funds can be reduced.
Conclusion
The essay can be concluded with the learning that the organizations in New Zealand
are facing many problems related to the downfall in the economy and the problems in the
workforce. The problems that are arising in the organizations can be solved with the help of
the HRM department and the Industrial relations of the organizations. Both of these aspects
are related to the relation of the employees and the management. The role of HRM however
is much more broad as compared to that of the Industrial relations of an organization.

6ANALYSIS ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES IN NZ
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