Overcoming HRM Barriers: A Strategic Approach to Effective Management

This report explores the barriers to effective Human Resources Management (HRM) and strategies to overcome them. It identifies key challenges such as specialization, ineffective line management, lack of strategic HR development, insufficient concrete actions, wrong actions, poor communication...Read More

What are the barriers Human Resources Management? How can they be overcome?
(Avoided)
Abstract
Human Resources management has subspecialties i.e. recruitment, selection, placement,
training and development, compensation and benefits, labour relations and Safety (Petrick,
and Furr, 1995). On the other hand achieving effectiveness in all these functions of human
resources management is the ideal and fundamental thing because if it is achieved leads to
the success of a business organisation. Terms like continuous quality improvement,
managerial and corporate reengineering and total quality management are all aimed at
achieving quality in the HRM (Voehl, 1995, Spencer Jr., 1995, Oakland, 2007) Increasingly,
organizations are recognizing the strategic importance of quality and quality management. It
is now a common social belief in the business fraternity that effective quality management
can enhance competitive capability and can be a source of strategic advantages in the
business environment. (Business Week, 1992). From a social Philosophy perspective quality
is a dynamic state associated with products, services, people, processes and environment that
meet customer needs expectations and help produce superior value (Goetsh and Davis, 2010).
Quality is in an ever changing state and this research is based on an interpretivist paradigm
because social reality is subjective and is shaped by our perceptions (Collis and Hussey,
2014). This research will use qualitative data and explore the complexity of achieving
effectiveness in the HRM by identifying barriers to achieving effectiveness, their impact and
how they can be overcome (Van Maanen, 1983).
Aim

This research aims to contribute to knowledge by identifying the main driving barriers and
the dependent barriers and help to understand the common interaction between the barriers
and to highlight the impact on organisational performance.
Objectives
To research why the following are barriers to effective HRM and how they can be overcome
or avoided:
 Specialisation
 Barrier of HRM to effective line management.
 Lack of strategic HR development this occurs the traditional HR which is broken into
identifiable functions like selection, appraisal, development and rewarding,
(Fombrum et al, Tichy and Devanna, 1984) fails to undergo an evolutionary process
to become a fully strategic partner and develop to become SHRM which is identified
as a macro-organisational approach to function in a large organisation (Butler et
al,1991) The functions of SHRM become identifiable as strategic selection, strategic
development , strategic appraisal , strategic rewards (Fombrum et al, 1984, Galbraith
and Nathanson, 1979)
 Lack of concrete actions of HR function the new competitive reality faced by all
organisations is to create value to both investors and employees and (Ulrich, 1997,
Yeung and Berman, 1997) point out that the HR function is the pivotal department to
implement strategic responses to these pressures lack of this concrete action by HR
creates a barrier in creating such an ideal organisation.
 Wrong actions of HR function occurs when inappropriate practices and policies by
HRM malpractices threaten professionalism, ethical behaviours and transparency.

(Sakr Ashour, 2004) this in turn leads to lack of direction, lack of staff accountability,
weakened integrity in the HRM
 Bad communication
Internal communication system among different functions of the departments allows
the organizations to attain the set organizational goals (Hindi et al. 2004). Businesses
without an effective and proper communication system would stumble, if it has no
proper directions or guidelines to follow. Individuals and groups in an organization
get connected with each other through a communication phenomenon. Moreover, an
appropriate organizational structure can be determined as a result of a proper and
effective communication system (Mumby and Stohl, 1996).
 Lack of transparency as a barrier to effective HRM occurs when there is lack of
clear and detailed instructions and defined limits especially during changes or
integration in an organisation and can cause insecurity and paranoia in employees
which in turn impacts the organisations overall performance (Ghoshal and Tanure,
(2004)
.
Chapter 1
Introduction
Human Resources Management defined by Tocher and Rutherford (2009) as the set of
activities and functions aimed at developing and maintaining the labour structure of the

business organisations is a strategic tool that provides hope for combating the challenges
posed by the relentless driving forces for change Petrick and Furr,(1995). The global
competition and rapid technological change talent is becoming the most important resource
for any organisation Taipale, (2016). It follows then that any organisation’s success will
depend on its ability to manage its human capital i.e. acquire, maintain and develop talent
Taipale, (2016). The strategic role of HRM is stressed by (Becker and Huselid, 2006) that HR
function should be that of business partner in driving the success of the organisation by being
part of top hierarchy decision making to be effective. But the HR function is not attaining this
strategic ideal role because of barriers Dyer, (1996) that may to a large extent confine HR to
an administrative role.
The existing literature has been largely confined to HR function as an administrative role but
little empirical research has been carried out on the strategic role of the HR function for it to
be effective and the barriers to effective HRM are mostly strategic in nature. This research is
carried out using combined primary and secondary data. The primary data was obtained
through self-administered questionnaires and the secondary data library based using
textbooks and CIPD reports. The data will be synthesised and analysed in an endeavour to
bring out coherent discourse on the mentioned barriers, on their existence, how they can be
overcome and ascertain if they can be avoided.
Background to Research
Noon (1992) gives a deep chronology of the development of HRM status through age which
explores HRM with a broader lens which answers the question on whether it is a Map, a
model or a theory. According to Noon the USA Harvard version came into existence as a
modest map for 1981 MBA (Beer et al, 1984) this is supported by (Poole, 1990) at the launch
of the “International Journal of Human Resources Management” who described it as the most

familiar and influential road map to manage human capital within the fraternity of scholars
and business communities. The aim of the Harvard scholars was to develop a model which
availed a prescriptive agenda that enabled a descriptive analysis of managing human
resources which managers would find useful (Beer et al, 1984) On the other hand the UK
version whose foundation to a large extend is the Harvard model was tweaked and developed
by (Guest, 1989) into a theory which enabled testable propositions that would lead to a
cocktail of effective prescriptive policies in HRM. The resultant effect of is that to some
practitioners and academics HRM is a well grounded theory with practical implications but to
others it remains an uncertain and imprecise notion (Noon, 1992) which also leads to a barrier
within the minds of line managers who think it’s a passing fad. Supportive evidence is found
in (Armstrong, 1987) who gives an example of some organisations from a practitioners
perspective that have simply changed the name plaque on personnel managers door to read
human resources manager. (Sparrow, 1991) contributes to the discourse by giving a robust
example by pointing out that some illustrative organisations like Marks and Spencer in UK
have always utilised HRM type of policies but persist in describing the practice as personnel
management. It is evident from such diverse views that overall there is generally lack of
clarity as to what HRM is to both academic and practitioners which in turn is a basis of some
of the barriers in HRM as this discourse will elucidate on some barriers. Noon,(1992 p17)
noted the difference between the UK approach to HRM and the American whereby he
observed that some writers on the subject simply changed book titles from Personnel
management to HRM with minimal changes to content and yet the American approach is
more liberal and uses the titles interchangeably (Sisson,1990). What appears to be apparent in
the UK is that HRM is a fusion of such disciplines like Industrial Relations, Personnel
management and organisational behaviour (Sisson, 1990), whose confusing pedigree can be
traced back to organisational development in the seventies, (Iles and Johnston, 1989) which

emerged when NCR Corporation created a separate personnel department in 1890s (Legge,
1989, Springer and Springer, 1990).
There is need to establish on HRM as a theory the purpose being that element of a theory
have to exist and Noon, (1992) utilises the work of (Dubin, 1978, Cohen 1980 and
Bacharach, 1989) to support the elements of HRM as a theory. According to Noon, (1992) a
theory is comprised of units whose interaction enables researchers to put forward a
proposition of their relationship. It follows then that the propositions can be conceptualised as
abstracts but must be represented by variables at empirical or observable level with
boundaries by known values through epistemological reasoning. According to the Harvard
map HRM can be measured through the four Cs (commitment, competence, congruence and
cost effectiveness) which come from Management policies Noon, (1992).
The main drivers of the ever accelerating change in the business terrain are globalisation,
technological advancement and the use of artificial knowledge. The rate of acceleration in
changes due to technological advancement will keep accelerating and with it brings change.
Globalisation has turned the world into a global village and it has opened all markets, which
also means access to resources especially scarce ones like talent through ease in mobility.
This phenomenon has increased the war for talent fiercer whereby every organisation can tap
into the global talent pool. Although existing research acknowledges barriers to effective
HRM to research very little empirical research has been done to shade light and give
knowledge on the mutual factors inherent in the barriers.

Literature Review
The existing literature has identified some of the ten most common barriers to effective HRM
and they are strategic in nature. This review will mention the barrier and then look at the
literature and sources of relevant information establish its reliability, validity authenticity and
currency. Use of current surveys undertaken by CIPD and statistics on the state of the Labour
market from the Office of National Statistics as well as primary data from interviews by the
writer will be used in this research.
The first strategic barrier is “Management system response” Voehl, (1995). This argument
is supported by Petrick and Furr (1995) who stated that differences in priorities by
management over their attitude in foregoing power, perks and investors risk of losing
financial returns in the short term in pursuance of investing in effective HRM for customer
satisfaction and increased market share.
The Second barrier is the “Educational system response” this is related to resistance to
HRM by senior management and this calls for HR professionals to have extensive business
acumen and the education system may equip senior functional managers with the necessary
knowledge.
Specialisation barrier
The writers tutor chronicled an example of his life experience while working as Personnel
Officer at Lucas Diesel Systems Officer and the welfare officer tasked an ex-social worker
with the recruitment of engineering graduates without any requisite of both HR education and
experience. The task was a disaster which resonated for years after with engineers from the

company rubbishing HR as an ineffective and incompetent department due to the fact that
The Personnel Manager had assigned the ex-welfare officer a task which was way above her
head.
This is supported by (Luc Galoppin, March 20, 2008 ) who pointed out that HR is a favourite
scapegoat in almost every organisation throughout the globe because they are perceived to be
adding value to product or service because they have got a clue about what “value-chain” is.
HR specialist staff whose remit is staffing, compensation and benefits, training and
development may resist to roped into doing any other duties that deviate from this narrow
specific remit. Specialisation gives professional status too many individuals in the HR field
and for them to give up some of these functions to line and team managers and employees
and take up training for new roles may cause them psychological discomfort. This is
supported by Kochan and Osterman (1994) (in their "Mutual Gains" model), and even more
explicitly by Pfeffer (1994). On the other hand the educational system can address this barrier
by providing training and development so that they are enabled to confidently take new roles.
Specialisation barrier number 2 some Hr specialists will resist by saying that continuous
improvement and participation is already in place so any other change towards quality
assurance is not necessary. This being true though the change is necessitated by the fact that
in most organisation cross functional system improvements rarely exist. The social system
will overcome this barrier by attaching attractive reward system to any broadening of roles by
to HR staff.
Structural barrier 1/ Management systems Response: a high level of divisionalization in
an organisation has the problem of creating group or department affiliation as opposed to
identifying with the organisation. This is addressed by interdepartmental, interdisciplinary

and system wide collaboration in problem solving and management can put in place well-
coordinated cross functional engagement within the armpit of operational strategic planning.
This is supported by Santos- Vijande and Alvarez- Gonzalez (2007) 93 ISO 9000 certified
firms (manufacturing and service) in Spain Structural equation modelling there is a
significant positive relationship between HRM and administrative innovation
Structural barrier 2/ Hierarchy Inertia which means people who have power in I pyramid
type of structure will resist the idea of embracing change to effective HRM because they will
have to forego some of that power. Any Hr professional who subscribes to the quality ideal
accept it as an inevitable operational condition to accept a flatter organisation which is
technically linked. This is evidence by Kotter (1996) who argues that, as successful
organizations mature, their people become change averse. When they are required to
implement transformational rather than incremental change to meet the challenge of new and
increasingly global competition, they find it highly problematic.
Structural barrier 3: most organisations have a system whereby the compensation system is
attuned to individual performance. What this means is that there is no prevalent gains sharing
and profit sharing and this becomes a good excuse for management to avoid changing the
system and embrace quality work system. One way of addressing this is to restructure the
reward system to include a broader range.
Linguistic Barrier 1 In a system where effectiveness is advocated at every level it works
well by supporting uniformity and steers away from variation by using statistical process
control. Such a system is shunned by individuals who have an inclination towards innovation
and creativity. However the quality system addresses positive variations that focus on desired
outcomes this means that those individuals who are creative and innovative are not put in a
box but the quality system goes a mile further by controlling unacceptable variations.

Linguistic barrier 2: where a system is based on the quality control system there is an
inclination for resistance because it is regarded as an intrusion that limits individual work
style. The quality system addresses this barrier by allowing workers to identify and do what
is required to make the organisation successful as opposed to doing what top management
requires them to do in other words workers are empowered
Operational Barrier: It is a common thing for HR staff to resist the quality approach
because they may feel that there is not enough time to carry out their work and work on job
improvement simultaneously. But this is the way to quality assurance to be able to do the
work as well as improve on the way it should be done. HR Management need to have it
impressed upon them that once they start thinking statistically quality in HR improved and
can easily manage because it prevents the from overreacting by thinking that all variations
emanate from some special causes.
Attitude: Workers may just regard movement towards quality as a passing fad which will not
work because it focusses towards internal operations when it is supposed to focus on the
external environment and output. Supporting evidence is found in Samson and Terziovskib
(1999). As a result, there is now widespread disillusionment with HRQM, and many are
saying that `the bubble has burst'.
The study by Martinez- Costa and Martinez- Lorente (2008) 451 manufacturing and non-
manufacturing firms in Spain Structural equation modelling QM has a positive impact on
product and process innovation and on the company performance.
First strategic barrier is management system response.
Common sense dictates that we start at the Top i.e. deal with management as a barrier discuss
its impact and suggest solutions to this.

CIPD 2014 research revealed that £3.2 billion is spent on training managers in Britain alone
but 72% business organizations report a deficit in the management and leadership skills.
Effectiveness in leadership is manifested in the quality of leadership and the success of the
organisations they lead. Fast paced technological change in the onslaught of global
competition talent has become a key resource of any organisation. It follows that an
organisations success is directly linked to its ability to manage its human capital. CIPD
research shows that the need for leadership has changed following the global shifts in the
ways we work today. While organisations are seen to be better at understanding leadership at
the highest levels in the hierarchy, many are now seeking to devolve leadership down the
line, expecting more junior managers and employees without managerial responsibility to
treat the organisational agenda as their own. The barriers to quality leadership and
effectiveness stems from the challenges that leadership in organisations face nowadays
especially the thrust that many organisations are moving towards a flatter type of people
management ( Hamel, 2016) and this devolution presents a challenge to leaders used to a
spikey hierarchical leadership. CIPD, (2014) exploring the systemic barriers to leadership,
identified four groups of challenges present in some organisations today.
Where HR has a deficit in business related competencies it becomes hard if not impossible to
synchronise HR activities with those of the business (Heehan 2005). The corrective measure
to be taken in order to enable HR to give meaningful strategic contribution must familiarise
with the business organisations activities. It is suggested here that work rotation for HRM
top professionals with those from others units is encouraged. When HR is unable to measure
and carry out effective and comprehensive analysis of what their contribution has achieved
towards the organisations performance it often attracts lack of respect and commitment from
top management because in the world of top management data driven decision-making has
primacy over intangible analysis. According to (Khan,2014) one way of overcoming this

barrier is to make sure the positive results that come as a result of effective HR function, is to
make sure that effective communication of such positive results to the organisation is carried
out. On the other hand (Beer, 1997) pointed out another danger of HR personnel getting
engrossed in basic operational problems and are left with not enough time to formulate new
strategies to drive the business forward the resultant effect is that strategic HR planning may
not be effected correctly or not even be implemented at all. Although (Lawler and Morhman,
2003) agree with (Beer, 1997) view but they argue that a solution to this issue can be
achieved by outsourcing non- strategic operations and efficient utilisation of IT systems.
However (Ulrich, 1977) puts forward a strong argument that HR must confine or concentrate
on an operational role rather than allow HR department to be used as a landfill to line
management problems.
One would have thought that having an HR manager as part of the spearheading committee
would mean involvement of HR in the decision making but (Beer, 1997) observed that this
move would just mean HR was involved but does not warrant HR strategic involvement. The
main reason put forward for this was is that this is attributed to HR mangers lack of business
acumen. It is a fact that most HR personnel are drawn from many different back grounds but
a common factor is that they lack strategic management exposure, and according to
(Beer,1997) this leads to their failure to play a quality and effective strategical role. (Lawler
III and Morhman, 2003) supports this by saying that Corporate strategy matters are regarded
as complex and overwhelming and may not be easily understood by HR personnel who may
have had no exposure to them. On the other hand (Beer, 1997) goes on to mention that the
CEO deficit in understanding HRM may be a barrier to achieving effective quality to the
HRM function in the organisation because the CEO may give passive resistance to
implementation of HR recommendations. One factor that also is a barrier to HRM quality
effectiveness is that HRM may revert to the old school in measuring HRM success and value

by using cost per employee this sets HR back to being regarded the cost centre (Becker and
Huselid, 2006).
Communication/Hierarchical Structure:
In organisations with this type of structure sharing information and expedient decision
making is instrumental to the success of the business especially in customer driven
companies and cross –functional teams despite that some organisations with this type of
structure have reduced the number of managerial levels there is still a general feeling
amongst their employees that they are not empowered to make independent decisions.
Empowerment becomes a barrier because communication between the strategic planning and
the operational sides whereby some managers in the top echelons regard those in operational
as lacking acumen in grasping strategic needs of the business and become resistant to change.
Those in top hierarchy will then shift into a command and control mode as they perceive
directive leadership to be able to achieve greater performance and results expediently. Trust
amongst these groups becomes a stumbling issue between the strategic and operational sides
as the business organisations expects their people to embrace uncertainty.
Short-term, bottom-line focus the second challenge to leadership in the organisations is the
tension between the sustainability of performance and the immediate balance of profit and
cost. More organisations are now concerned with sustainability of performance and the
ethical aspects of decision-making, and are including relevant measures in their behaviour
and/ or value frameworks. However, in practice, the message that some individuals are
actually receiving through performance management processes, and through informal aspects

of organisational culture, may be emphasising the value of short-term bottom-line priorities
over ‘how’ things are done.
Specialisation:
Is a barrier to effective HRM due to the relationship between line managers and HR. Gratton
et al, (1999) stated that there is arguments for and against even among academics, those who
oppose HR are of the view that HR strategy is a concept that is fraught with contradictions.
According to Gratton at al, (1999) this is evidenced by the various description towards HR
some call it “the emperor’s new clothes”, “a sheep in wolf skin,” or “an iron fist in in velvet
gloves” this highlights the suspicion directed at HR. But most organisation utilise HR as a
tool to achieve competitive edge from the perspective that people are the most important asset
this is supported by studies carried out by (Gratton et al, (1999) on organisations like BT
Payphones , Citibank, Glaxo, Welcome, Hewlett Packard, Lloyds TSB group, C&W NHS
Trusts etc. The academics are not alone in criticizing HR line managers who are not HRM
specialists HR have problems in understanding all the ramification associated with HRM
strategy. Contradictions emerge between the technical jargon used by Both HR in line with
their profession and the technical jargon of specialist line managers like engineers etc. These
cracks between line managers and HR has earned HR labels like “The biggest show stopper
in town.
A more complex issue with professionals like Solicitors, barristers, doctors and engineers etc.
is that these are experts in their field and carry out interviews on everyday basis and to pass
that function of hiring staff to HR is a problem because their position is that they are the
professional in their field and to get someone who does not have their expertise hiring staff
for them is regarded as having “unprofessional fingers on the agenda”. In order to have
effective HRM it is necessary to craft strategic themes of HR in the languor that most line

managers are au fait with. Gratton, et al, (1999) also observed some slip-ups which are some
silly mistakes that HR could have avoided for example recruiting and hiring someone who is
ill suited and has no clue about what their job entails and place them in a department where
thy have to work with a specialised manager obviously such a bungle up will not go down
well with the expert manager. In some cases sighted by Gratton HR trickle is another barrier
where HR can plan to give some training and development to employees but for some reason
attributed to inefficiency the proposed training then is never followed up. In similar situation
line managers may correctly identify an area of deficit in their employees and then ask HR to
carry out training to target the correction of such deficiency creates frustration in the line
manager as this affect his effectiveness and efficiency.

Lack of support:
A fellow student also found lack of HR support to line managers as a barrier that affected
HRM effectiveness and this was due to a number of things, HR viewed line managers as
gifted unprofessional and assumed they could adapt quickly to any new situation, HR has a
presumption that line managers already have the technical knowledge and skills to carry out
their human resources managerial roles, HR believes that its more effective for line managers
to learn through experience which means very little support is availed to line managers.
This lack of HR support to line managers has manifested itself in the various inconsistencies
line manager interpret HR role. This perspective can easily align to Employee relations i.e.
line managers not getting support from HR and as a result implementing ambiguous
organisational policies on the other hand shop stewards and Union Convenors why there is
inconsistency in the way their union members are treated.
HR inconsistency:
One student chronicled HR inconsistency and the supportive evidence was that if she
consulted different members of the HR team with the same query she got several answers to
one question the perception and analysis that came out of a group discourse agreed that this
phenomena could come about because of a varied level of both education and experience, and
also pointed out that policies and procedures need to effectively communicated and applied
consistently to avoid ambiguity and inconsistency and achieve uniformity across the board.
HR remoteness:
A fellow student on the MHRM course made a survey and discovered that in the respective
organisation which had introduced a service centre HR remoteness was actually a barrier that

line managers were experiencing because contact with HR was at arm’s length because it was
at the end of a telephone line. The biggest contention was lack of urgency and lack of
personal contact with the resultant effect that HR technical advice and queries were not
instantaneous but were subjected to a 24 hour call back interval. A very big problem when a
line manager was faced with a problem that required urgent attention or dealing with an irate
member of staff which is often the case.
“HR treacle”:
There are voices of discontent from line managers who are of the school of thought that HR
specialists should do one job i.e. to give managers advice where technical aspects are needed
but other than that managing of the workforce must be a line manager’s function (David
Poole) This is supported by a student on placement (Graham White) at Surrey Council where
he experienced (HR treacle) he discovered that HR was so bureaucratic and had become a
monster that neutralised goods ideas from line managers always willing to say no. HR
policies and procedures stood as barriers stifled initiatives rather than assist managers to
achieve their objectives (Resilient HRM Notes). This is further supported by, (Mintzberg,
2009) who gave an example of a scenario where one is a line manager with serious, informed
doubts about a strategy, but get saddled with a leadership that is too detached from the fray
to listen to you.
Cultural Barrier
If the organisations ethical work culture is underdeveloped its senior management leaning to
the manipulation culture will criticize and oppose any strategy to implement global Effective
HRM strategies as a farfetched idea. This is supported by rejuvenating the mature business,
Baden-Fuller and Stopford (1992, 1994) also tackle the problem of transforming the mature
enterprise. Ogbonna, (1992) stated that one of the fundamental aspects of HRM is its

influence in the creation and maintenance of strong organisational culture. In the 1980s
according to Ogbonna it was widely believed that managing culture was an effective method
of acquiring competitive advantage however it is now evident that HRM identifies many
other routes to generating competitive advantage besides strong cultures. The question to ask
is that is it possible to manage culture? An explorative approach to answering this questions
unearthed some contradictions and dilemmas. Literature to this is available which is both
critical and prescriptive which highlight the issues inherent in the management of culture.
This is further supported by the fact that a global HRM strategy for it to be effective must be
developed and implemented on policies that are in line with host countries. Barriers to
effective Global HRM may emerge due to the diversity of political and legal factors that vary
from country to country, because while the legal system may be stable or similar in Europe
due to the primacy of the Law of the EU over member states as a stabilising factor, a
departure of this occurs when it comes to for example African countries. Most African
governments are not stable due to rampant coups, and corrupt and dictatorial rules (Zkjadoon,
2015
A case study by of a leading UK supermarket is put forward as an example in trying to
explore the management of culture to come up with a management policy. In an attempt to
unravel the controversy of trying to manage culture (Smircich, 1983) came up with two ways
of approaching the discourse based on Burrell and Morgan’s (1979) paradigm framework that
defined culture as something a business organisation is or has these being mutually exclusive
meaning they cannot be present together. Many scholars have followed the elaborative
school of thought by (Silverzweig and Allen, 1976) which approaches this discourse from
cultural change perspective. Basically this model is based on the assumption that when
people have worked in a sustained period they develop a set of norms expectations and values
which although not written down as well grounded rules can influence their collective action

as members the so called community of purpose. This approach also assumes that the culture
of individuals can be shaped by that of the organisation and at the same time the members
can also shape the culture of the organisation of which they are part of. (Silverzweig and
Allen, 1976) went on to say in the long term the values and culture become the organisational
guide and can be adaptive to change depending on the environmental changes and identified
variables in HRM that derive the organisations success these include leadership,
performance and reward systems, training and orientation.
Another cultural barrier can be caused when social expectations towards effective HRM are
too high and when failure to meet these is experienced, frustration will get the better side of
management. The solution to this will be to put in place a realistic strategy planning.
When comes to global operations of any organisation it is not an area of dispute that every
country its unique culture which in a way may be akin to another country’s culture, but
common sense also dictates that narrative of global human resources management should
utilise such polices and procedure within the organisation are in line with the local culture of
the host country or region. It is suggested here that staff of the foreign branch of the
organisation should be sourced from the Host country because they may be cultural norms
that are accepted in one country but are anathema in another country. The resultant effect of
not taking these factors into consideration is a problematic global HRM of any business
organisation this should be reciprocated by expatriates of the organisation by taking into
consideration cultural norms and values of a host country to a large extent. Organisation
management need to implement a broad corporate culture throughout all its global
subsidiaries.
Globalisation has a combination of factors that can constitute barriers. The first barrier
attached to globalisation may embody economic factors. It is a fact that there isn’t a

homogenous model of economics operating throughout the globe where the economy follows
capitalism the focus is on efficiency and productivity while cutting costs to do more with less,
whereas in a socialistic economy efficiency and productivity are foregone as eliminating
unemployment is the main thrust. The production input costs vary from country to country
more so labour costs which is a stickling issue if not managed properly. The relationship
between employees and management also vary between countries this becomes a barrier
because it is not a walk in the park for an organisation to effectively manage its expatriate
staff (Zkjadoon November 29, 2017). A study has revealed that the rate of failure on effective
expatriate assignment is between 20 to 40% and the common reasons are cultural shock,
family problems, maybe done to get rid of a bothering employee but this can be overcome by
giving assignees cross cultural and pre- departure training (Zkjadoon November 29, 2017)
Lack of strategic HR development
This barrier needs to be looked at in depth by examining the ideal approach to HRM There
are two distinct theoretical approaches to HRM i.e. instrument HRM and Humanistic HRM
(Stone, 2002, p8). The instrumental approach focuses on the quantitative narrative that relates
to performance improvement, relentless improvement of the competitive advantage. On the
other hand the Humanistic approach is centred on synchronizing HR policies with the
organisations strategic objectives with a focus on employee development, collaboration,
participation trust and informed choice (Stone, 2002) The soft approach recognises human
capital as instrumental to the organisations competitive advantage with their superior
knowledge their loyalty, positive responsiveness to change through motivation and job
satisfaction. The chief aim of this approach is to develop a culture of agile employees through
effective and comprehensive HRM. It is not an area of dispute that the hard approach has
potential of fomenting industrial conflict whereas although it is less obvious the soft approach
is has a subtle potential of creating union conflict whereby the trade union may on ideological

basis object to pay for performance because it incentivises individualistic as opposed to a
collectivist way of managing a work force. The resultant effect of this is that a barrier is
formed between the union and HRM especially when HR calls for mutual interest,
cooperation communication the union will regard this as an attempt cynically manipulate and
dilute the power of the union. Visa vee HR may also label the union as an incompatible
stumbling block to organisational objectives and progress akin to putting (old wine in a new
bottle).
According to Ulrich for HR to be effective managers would like HR professional to be a
strategic partner of the business organisation. In this regard the expected and ideal position
envisioned by management is that HRM should be able to transform business strategy into
concrete action. This position can only be attainable if the HRM manager becomes part of
business spearheading team, acquire requisite business acumen customer driven focus and
possess a broader lens in analysing other competitor’s strategies within the industry so that
they can come up with HR policies and practises that keeps the organisation ahead of
competition. Unfortunately (Stone, 2002) points out that research has shown that HR
managers are not satisfying this role of strategic partner as very few CEOs involve HR
managers in creating business their business strategies. There is robust evidence that show
unsound HR policies and practices trigger alienation, demotivation and unrest within the
labour force. On the other hand it is also evident that CEOs who have embraced HR as part of
their strategic team have gained competitive advantage against those who do not. (Ernst and
Young, 2000) put forward ten things that HR must do to achieve a good relationship with line
management:
 Put nooks and cranes of HR in place
 Pune off all HR activities that does not add value to the business
 Be au fait with the business ins and outs

 Augment interrelationship throughout the organisation
 Enhance line managers confidence in their HR role
 Acquire the knowledge to effectively communicate your ideas in the line managers
jargon
 Avoid being rigid
 Broaden the breadth of grasping general Big picture issues
 Focus on same goals
 Pivot HR practice on the three Cs, collaborate, cooperate and communicate.
However there is an argument from line management that disagrees with Ulrich’s suggestion
that HR should be a strategic partner with top management because this strategic role puts
HR in the firing line as workers will perceive HR as running in cahoots with the management
which makes them enemies of the work force (Poole) Whereas if HR partners with workers
senior management will not take them seriously. Some line managers do not believe that HR
specialist will be able to grasp the minute and pertinent details of the functions of finance,
marketing and production of a business organisation.
The Strategic dimension
The strategic perspective is that HR plays an instrumental role in a business organisation
which is achieving performance. This function separates HR from that if a manager in the
personnel department whose function is head of administration. According to (A.
Vanderstraeten, 2014) there are two prominent models that have a strong impact on the
concept of strategic HRM i.e. the “ Michigan Titchy” model and the “ Beer also known as
threw Harvard model”.

Michigan or Titchy
Model: Accessed on 24/10/18 http://www.reply-mc.com/2008/03/20/hr-blues/

Human Resource Management Models | Management Study HQ
Management Study HQ
Harvard Model Accessed on 24/10/18
According to Vanderstraeten, (2014) there are basically two main models that have a
prominent impact on the strategic HRM concept namely the Michigan or Titchy model and
the “Beer” or. “Harvard” model. The (Michigan) model emphasises that HRM strategy and
HRM policy are fundamental to the wellbeing of a business organisation but are subject to
some external influence which may be political, cultural and economic environment.
Fombrun et al, (1984) points out that the Michigan model is pivoted on four functions
namely, selection, appraisal, remuneration and development and these four must be as a rule
of thumb be embedded in the strategy and structure of the organisation, and are to be located
at three levels of the business entity strategic, managerial and operational level. This is
corroborated by Vanderstraeten, (2014) who pointed out the ever increasing importance of
HRM in both private and public organisations and the trend and evolution of HRM provides a
road map of providing a curriculum in higher education that equips future HR professionals
with a tool box of overcoming barriers in HRM especially where ethical behaviour is
concerned. Vanderstraeten, (2014) mentions that the thrust of the (Harvard model) is a
strategy that apportions more attention to stakeholders and external environment
According to Vanderstraeten, (2014) there are four distinct dimensions whose properties are
moulded by the organisational environment in which they are applied, and they work in
tandem and complement each other in adding value to HRM. The identified dimensions deal
with four different functions, essential administration, human element of the business
organisation, goal directed aspects and cultural and structural function consecutively.

According to Ulrich (2000) there is need for HR practitioners to be administrative experts and
this is achieved by utilising technology , rethinking , redesigning work processes by putting
in place reengineering of the Hr function as a tool for adding value and measuring of Human
resources in terms of being cost efficient, effective manifested in the quality of delivery.
According to Stone (2002) effective HR management is linked to high performing
organisations while incompetency in HR is linked to low performing organisations. Ulrich
(200) states that HR professionals must be employee champions by being able to foster a
good relationship with the employees and be the employee’s voice in all management
discussions. HR professionals are expected to provide learning resources in the following
arears, coaching line managers and employees on how to set priorities, getting rid of no-value
adding work, give clarification of goals, decode complex processes, partake in decision
making, enhance workers commitment, and facilitate the employees sharing of economic
gains. This is by no means an exhaustive list of expectations but (Ulrich, 2000) states that this
will enable employees to give effective contribution as they will gain competency and
commitment to do the job the right way. On the other hand Ulrich makes a further point that
the dual HR function of being a strategic business partner and an employee champion may be
a source of tension as the HR manager grapples with the act of balancing both.
The reason for an HR manager to carry out this balancing act was emphasised by Appelbaum,
(2000) who contributed to the discourse by bringing in “The People Dimension” with a
people – oriented model that has (motivation and Participation as the key words to the
approach. According to Appelbaum, (2000) the chief factor to HRM motivation of employees
i.e. a relentless and prolific creation of ways to stimulate employees to work for the benefit of
the organisation. Appelbaum, (2000) mentioned observed that there are several ways of
influencing employee behaviour with some ideas just managing to provoke just minimum
compliance with the employers wishes but some will actually motivate employees to be

committed and be actively involved, participate engage in looking for solutions to challenges
facing the organisation. Appelbaum averred that employees will perform well when they
possess the requisite (ability or competence) and when they are incentivised or stimulated
(motivation) and when they are part of the decision making process (participation). To
empower employees is instrumental to engagement and is a strategic method of recognising
employee autonomy which in turn views the manager as a facilitator. This is supported by
Herzberg (2003) who said, “ Forget praise, Forget punishment, Forget cash you need to make
employees job more interesting “ as this will motivate them to perform well for the benefit of
the organisation
It is then a sole responsibility of the HR manager to keep cognisance of employee responses
to any HR initiatives that are meant to enhance organisational performance this is supported
by the fact that not all employees may want to be involved in decision making especially
where thy realise it is more work for the same pay. If this is not done its resultant effect is
seen as a failure by HRM to lose focus on the needs and aspirations of the workforce which
in turn will result in distrust, employees going half-mast which affects which has negative
impact on organisational performances. HR manger is expected to be Change agent that is act
as a catalyst that facilitate smooth and effective change in an organisation. This function can
involve among others, leading change in the organisation HR function (Stone, 2005), develop
problem solving communication, and enhance required skill within the workforce to be
responsive to change, in short the HR manager is expected to know how to manage change.
To be effective (Gloet ) puts forward an argument that HR management must be able to
reinvent or reengineer itself through continuous development of learning environments where
new knowledge is acquisition sharing and dissemination is esteemed as valuable. The HR
manager must use a pragmatic approach in managing change where positive results are
realised and overcoming and avoiding all obstacles play a pivotal role. However some line

managers believe that workers do not like change because they are suspicious and change so
for HR to champions for people such a role will make them enemies instead of allies.
Lack of concrete actions of HR function
There is a lot of discourse centred on whether HRM should be done away with altogether by
many business organisations this only underscores the high expectations and importance
placed on HRM within the business fraternity but such a question alludes to the
ineffectiveness of the HRM Harvard (Business Review, 2017). According to (Ulrich, 2017)
this discourse is triggered by a common shared perception of doubt on the expected HR’s
contribution to organisational performance. This is supported by (Stone, 2005) who avers that
it is justified to label HR with such a beleaguered reputation because HR is usually
ineffective, incompetent, and expensive and is value depleting to an organisation. This
position is reached when HR is wrongly configured and lacks concrete action. However
HRM should be an integral part of any organisational excellence by focusing on learning,
quality, teamwork, reengineering and geared to get things done how they manage human
capital (Spencer, Jr. 1995). In this context quality of the HR function is measured by its
effectiveness to the organisational performance.
 First, HR should become a partner with senior and line managers in strategy
execution, helping to move planning from the conference room to the marketplace.
 Second, it should become an expert in the way work is organized and executed,
delivering administrative efficiency to ensure that costs are reduced while quality is
maintained.
Ulrich, (2017) to be effective HR must move from the traditional norm that is hinged on
staffing and remuneration and partner with senior and line managers to create an agile and
nimble organisation highly responsive to change through strategy execution. In other words

“HR must not be defined by what it does but by what it delivers enriches the organisation’s
value to customer, investors and employees.”
Wrong actions of HR function
According to (Mintzberg,) the most important job in our society is that of the manager
because it is the manager who determines if the business organisations serve us well or
whether they usap our talents and resources. HR practitioners in an Organisation must ensure
that employees are allocated tasks they are suitable for a good example is that it would be
ineffective to hire someone with an accounting background into a technical sales department.
Effect of Communication Barriers in Business Communication
Daft, (1997, p 560) defined organisational communication as an interaction between two
people whereby information is exchanged and understood by two or more people with the
intention of motivating and influencing desirable behaviour. The crucial thing to note here is
that the intent goes beyond just transferring of information by pointing out that the sender to
influence the receiver. Contributing and supporting business communication (Bryman, 1992,
p146) identified distinct but interrelated interpersonal and organisational factors that are in
concert in the communication process and are relevant in the leadership literature. (Bryman,
1992 p146) went on to itemise the themes as follows:
 That having a vision is a pivotal role of leadership
 Communication of that vision is crucial to turn it into reality
 The vision has an empowering effect on organisational members
 Leaders need to create an organisational culture that underpins the vision
 Leaders will not be able to implement such a vision without their followers trust

This is diagrammatically illustrated below:
Accessed on 25/10/18
Prachi Juneja, (2017) writing for Deloitte stated that every organisation aspires to make a
profit by meeting its goals but HR managers need to take cognisance of the fact that an
organisation is the first home for the employee because he or she spends most of their time at
work . Juneja (2017) stated that employees are the most important assets of any organisation
because the profitability of any business entity is directly proportionate to the labour input by
its employees. Labour in this context needs to be understood as any smart work done by the
employees and it is very crucial that free flow of effective information be fostered within the
organisation as it is conducive in enhancing transparency and coordination between team
members. When there are barriers in effective communication in an organisation they
manifest in a long way in distorting messages and in some cases messages never reaching the
intended recipient at all or sometimes it does but not in the desired form.
A simple diagram by Hunt above can be used for a simple illustration of barrier to effective
communication in work places and a simple case study where a managing director through
his secretary is giving instruction and task to a team member to prepare and submit a report
complete with budgets for sales marketing department to a deadline but for poor
communication the information is misinterpreted and reaches the member of staff tasked to

carry out the task and then he submits a report without a budget. One would then imagine
what this employee’s appraisal report will look like after making such a mistake most
probable thing is no promotion and no wage increment. Noisy work stations and employee
chitchat in work places can cause breakdown in communication.
HR staff are constantly within a business organisation presiding over business meetings,
presentations or chairing training seminars and as communicators it is imperative that they
understand that every individual has his or her own mind set and different levels of
understanding so it is imperative that clarity and sharing details to ensure that everybody is
on board is essential Davison, (2014). This is supported by Illeris, (2003) who stated that
research has shown during seminars or presentations only front benchers are attentive the last
benchers are lost I their own sweet world, it is then essential for HR practitioners when
presenting at seminars to ensure that that they keep their audience who may be employees or
line managers engaged and interactive and this can be achieved effectively by asking
questions from participants.
HR practitioners in an organisation must ensure that the organisational structure does not
allow communication barriers through bad organisational policies for example rules that
make it imperative for communication to be in writing between managers and employees, this
may cause delays in implementing tasks. Bad policies on status are a barrier in organisations
especially when communication is from bottom to top, a good example is when a junior
employee is sending communication top hierarchy managers they may have lurking fear that
the communication may be faulty this manifests itself in delayed decision making. This is
further exacerbated by the complexity of the organisational structure especially if there is a
greater number of managerial levels as there tends to be criticism and changes are made
before the communication reaches the intended receiver. There is a likelihood of personal
barriers which may emanate from lack of confidence in subordinates by higher ranking

managers as they have a prejudiced idea that their junior subordinates are less capable
whereas on the other hand there is always fear of challenging higher ranking managers by
junior employees. Some top ranking managers pull ranks by simply ignoring suggestions
from junior subordinates which in turn lower the self-esteem and incentive of the junior
employees when they feel that their suggestions are not given importance. The explosion of
IT has brought forth integrated approach to HRM which enabled automated recruiting
system, performance management, and reward systems although the long term advantage of
this is cost effective fully customisation and necessary maintenance of such systems is
expansive and can be a barrier to effective HRM if the necessary training and system is not
given to employees (HRMIS, 2012 )
Case Study of a Retail organisation
Purpose of This Study
Research is basically the process of inquiry and investigation, and it is also systematic and
methodical (Collis and Hussey, 2013). The importance of research could also mean the
method of looking for a specific answer to a specific question in a structured objective
reliable way (Payton, 1979). However, the purpose of this research is to understand the
factors that drive and enhance employee motivations in the retail industry
Research Approach
Researchers have three possible approaches to take such as; quantitative which relates to
analysis with numbers and statistical methods which add up to a conclusion (Collis and

Hussey, 2013), qualitative research allow the researcher to examine peoples experience in
depth by using a certain type of research methods such as in-depth interviews, focus group
discussions, observation, content analysis, visual methods and life histories, or a mixed
approach (Hennink, Hutter and Bailey, 2015).
Mixed Method
For this study, the researcher used mixed method approach to explicitly mix quantitative and
qualitative research approaches to best understand the research problem by capitalizing on
their complementary strengths and differences (Creswell and Piano Clark, 2011). It also,
allows the researcher to collect and analyse both quantitative and qualitative data, and to
come up with different result for further analysis (Creswell and Piano Clark, 2011). Mixed
method approach has been used in employee motivation studies more often to provide both
numeric data and expanded information for more understanding. But for this study, the
researcher wanted to focus on the retail industry staff, and line managers from Team leaders,
Team Managers shift Managers, Senior Managers on the identified barriers to effective
Human Resources Management in their workplace. Using mixed method to analyse the case
study, enable the researcher to present a more in-depth study by using questionnaires or
interviews to provide a more reliable result and the researcher could also make “inferences
with confidence” (Jogulu and Pansiri, 2011). Mixed method approach is a complex method as
it involves the researcher to undergoing different research methods to interpret information in
different ways. For the researcher to undertake this method, it can be time consuming as it
requires knowledge of both forms of data collection (Hesse-Biber, 2010).
Research Methodology
Sampling

Seventy participants from the population have been selected as a sample in order to
accumulate the primary data for the research.
Questionnaire Structure
The close-ended and Open-ended questionnaire has been undertaken as the structure of the
questionnaire to gather primary data for the study.
Data Collection Method
The process of collecting data from different source is to ensure the accuracy and reliability
of the data. It is important for researcher to select the best method for collecting data for the
research (Hair, 2015). Data collection method is divided into two parts which are; secondary
and primary data collections
Primary Data
When secondary data are unable to help solve the research problem, primary data is used to
collect vital information relevant to the particular study or research problem. They are
different ways of collecting primary data such as; Observations, experiments, surveys
(Questionnaires) and interviews. The advantage of using this method is that they are collected
for the particular research at hand and they are more consistent with the research objectives
or research questions. The disadvantage of this, is that it can be difficult to find the target
group (Ghauri and Grønhaug, 2006). As this research is based on mixed method approach,
the main primary source of data was obtained from the Questionnaire. The researcher used
Questionnaire as part of the primary data in this research and it was handed out to the
participants through face to face interactions. Although, some of the participants initially
agreed to participate in the study, but some failed to participate because they felt it could be
time consuming.

The researcher made sure that the questions were as brief and concise as possible, and all the
questions were created in a way that it would enable the respondents to either agree nor
neither disagree. The researcher also considered using other methods such as; sending the
questions across via emails, creating online questionnaire or posting the questionnaire to the
participant, but it was discounted because these approaches are time consuming and require
follow ups in cases where responses are not returned on time (Hox and Boeije, 2005).
Secondary Data
Secondary data was carried out to find information to solve the problem of the study and this
was done through review of the literature. The literature reviewed included various sources
such as; books, journal articles, websites and Newspapers. Although, the advantage of using
this data it saves time and money, sometimes the data can be inaccurate (Ghauri and
Grønhaug, 2006).
Ethical Considerations
In this research, ethical consideration was taken into account and the researcher abided by
ethical principles at all times. As Shamoo and Resnik (2009) states that it is the responsibility
of the researcher to respect and protect the research participant information and keep it
confidential. During the handing out of the questionnaire, the researcher gave out a consent
form and participant information sheet (see appendix 3 and 4), along with the questionnaire
which was given to the participant to request their informed consent before partaking in the
research.
DATA ANALYSIS
According to Bryman and Bell (2015), data analysis is the method of analysing and
examining data to sum up to a conclusion about the information they contain, with the use of
specialised systems or software. The researcher used thematic analysis as it is a process for

encoding data, by grouping raw information from the responses to the questionnaires into a
list of themes and to interpret the information clearly (Boyatzis, 1998). This process was
conducted in the research as the researcher grouped the last 4 open question response from
the questionnaire into themes to come up with a result.
Thus, Excel Software Package was also used to analyse the 11 open question response from
the questionnaire into pie charts, tables and graphs to explain the statistics and the findings of
the research.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
One of the major limitations of the study is the use of a survey through a questionnaire. This
method of gathering data is time-consuming as well as costly (Debois, 2016). There must be
the use of online data collection methods, because according to Sue and Ritter (2012),
collecting data through these methods is quick and cost effective.
Chapter Summary
To sum up, the researcher considered various research methodologies and designs, followed
specific guidelines regarding data collection and considered ethical issues relating to this
research study. In addition, different methods of data collection and analysis were taken into
account.
Analysis and Findings
These findings were supported by the view of Pfeffer (1994), as it is stated that most of the
participants believe that HR executives in their organization are fully aware of the business
needs and strategies. For example, the HR Managers adopt quality assurance strategies in
order to overcome operational barriers.

These findings were supported by the view of Voehl (1995), as it is stated that most of the
participants believe that there are numerous barriers to the effective Human Resource
Management in their organization. As per the literature review, there are around ten common
barriers to operative Human Resource Management and they are strategic in nature, for
example, management system response, educational system response, hierarchy inertia,
communication, cultural barriers, etc.
These findings were supported by the view of Santos- Vijande and Alvarez- Gonzalez (2007),
as it is stated that most of the participants believe that there are three categories of barriers
experienced by almost all the businesses and they are structural barriers, specialization
barrier, and linguistic barrier.
These findings were supported by the view of Kotter (1996), as it is stated that most of the
participants believe that there are different strategies available that are used by the human
resource manager in order to overcome the barriers. For example, the organization adopts a
strategy of attractive reward system in order to overcome specialization barriers.
These findings were supported by the view of Kotter (1996), as it is stated that most of the
participants believe that structural barriers are the most influencing barriers in their
organization. For example, Hierarchy Inertia is one of the structural barriers which means
people with the power in I pyramid structure type will resist the notion of implementing
change to effective human resource management since they have to sacrifice some of that
power.
Introduction
Survey through questionnaire has been conducted on 70 participants of different
organizations. The questionnaire is comprised of different questions related to the research
objective and focused on attaining the goal of the research.

Survey through Questionnaire
Q1. Demographic
Gender
Male [ ]
Female [ ]
Q2. Age
Under 19 [ ]
20-27 [ ]
28-35 [ ]
More than 35 [ ]
Q3. Experience
0 to 1 years [ ]
2 to 3 years [ ]
4 to 5 years [ ]
6 years and above [ ]
Q4. Department in which you work
Human Resource [ ]
Marketing [ ]
Finance [ ]
Research and Development [ ]

Other [ ]
Q5. What are the barriers to effective human resource management in your organization?
Q6. HR executives in your organization are fully aware of the business needs and strategies
Fully Agree [ ]
Agree [ ]
Neither agrees nor disagrees [ ]
Partially Disagree [ ]
Fully Disagree [ ]
Q7. The organization's human resource requirement are systematically ascertained and an
appropriate plan is formulated for satisfying the requirement
Yes [ ]
No [ ]
Q8. The organization has a wide network of a computerized human resource information
system with the latest software
Fully Agree [ ]
Agree [ ]
Neither agrees nor disagrees [ ]
Partially Disagree [ ]
Fully Disagree [ ]
Q9. What strategies the HR manager to overcome the barrier must adopt?

Q10. In your opinion, which one HR barrier is influencing the organization operations?
Structural Barriers [ ]
Specialization Barriers [ ]
Linguistic Barriers [ ]
Findings from the Questionnaire
Q1. Gender
Male 35
Female 35
50%50%
Gender
Male Female
The research is comprised of 70 participants, which included 50% of men and 50% of
women. As the researcher does not want to do any kind of biases so, he selected an equal
number of both the genders as the participants.
Q2. Age-group
Under 19 5
20-27 years 25
28- 35 years 10
More than 35 years 30

Age-group
Under 19
20-27 years
28- 35 years
More than 35
years
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Age-group
Age-group
The research is comprised of almost all the age group people, but the maximum number of
participants was from more than 35 years of age group. Most of the participants from this
group were selected because they possess more experience and provided relevant data.
Q3. Experience
0-1 year 10
2-3 years 25
4- 5 years 15
More than 6 years 20
Experience 0-1 year 2-3 years 4- 5 years More than
6 years
0
5
10
15
20
25
30 Experience
Experience
From the above chart, it could be analyzed that 25 participants were having 2-3 years of
experience and only 10 participants were with 0-1 year of experience.
Q4. Department in which you work
Human Resource 35
Marketing 10
Finance 5

Research and Development 15
Other 5
0
10
20
30
40
Department in which you work
Department in which
you work
The above analysis reflects that research selected 30 participants from the human resource
department because they are the major ones who can provide proper data on barriers to
effective HRM.
Q5. What are the Barriers to the effective Human Resource Management in your organization?
According to the literature review, there are around 10 types of barriers to effective
management that are categorized into three groups’ i.e. structural barriers, linguistic barriers,
and specialization barrier.
Q6. HR executives in your organization are fully aware of the business needs and strategies
Fully Agree 12
Agree 23
Neither agree nor disagree 5
Partially Disagree 11
Fully disagree 19

0
10
20
HR executives in your
organization are fully aware of
the business needs and
strategies HR executives in your
organization are fully
aware of the business
needs and strategies
According to the research, it has been identified that were only 23 participants who agreed
that their HR executive possesses the knowledge of strategies and needs of the business.
Q
7.
The organization's human resource requirement are systematically ascertained and an
appropriate plan is formulated for satisfying the requirement
Yes 50
No 20
The organization's human
resource requirement are
systematically ascertained
and an appropriate plan is
formulated for satisfying
the requirement
The above data reflects that out of 70 participants, 50 of them agreed that their human
resource requirement is systematically ascertained and proper planning is done for satisfying
the requirement.
Q8
.
The organization has a wide network of a computerized human resource information system
with the latest software
Full agree 15

Agree 4
Neither agree nor disagree 13
Partially disagree 20
Fully disagree 18
Full agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Partially disagree
Fully disagree
0 5 10 15 20 25
The organziation has a wide network of
computerized human resource
information system with the latest
software The organziation has a wide
network of computerized
human resource information
system with the latest
software
From the above analysis, it could be observed that only four of the participants are agreeing
that their business possesses a wide network of human resource information system.
Q9. What strategies the HR manager to overcome the barrier must adopt?
From the interview, it is found that HR managers make use of different strategies such as
incentive rewards in order to overcome the barriers.
Q10. In your opinion, which one HR barrier is influencing the organization operations
Structural Barrier 35
Specialization Barrier 15
Linguistic Barrier 60

Structural Barrier
Specialisation Barrier
Linguistic Barrier
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
In your opinion, which one HR barrier
is influencing the organization
operations
In your opinion, which one
HR barrier is influencing
the organization
operations
From the interview, it has been identified that linguistic barriers are the type of barriers that
majorly influence the operations of the organization.
Chapter Summary
The above research is based on the topic i.e. barriers to effective human resource
management and the strategies used to overcome them. It has been identified from the above
research that there are around 10 barriers to effective human resource management and
business organizations make different efforts to overcome them. The researcher has used
different quantitative and qualitative research measures to identify the opinions of different
academies and employees from different organizations.
CONCLUSION
The research is comprised of different aspects such as research methodology, literature
review, questionnaire, finding, and analysis, etc. The report has identified that the
organizations deal with different barriers that affect the human resource management, but
according to the secondary research majorly only 10 barriers are highlighted. Besides this, the

researcher has conducted the survey through questionnaire according to which linguistic
barriers are majorly influencing the organizations.
EVALUATION OF FINDINGS
The researcher has selected literature review in order to find out the secondary data and the
opinions of different academies about the barriers to effective human resource management.
On the other side, a survey through questionnaire has been selected to identify the primary
data.
RECOMMENDATION
From the above research, it can be recommended that companies should majorly concentrate
towards overcoming the linguistic barriers such that they cannot affect the operations of the
organization.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
The research must be comprised of more number of participants because only 70 participants
cannot provide the actual data. Besides this, in the future researcher must concentrate majorly
on the participation of human resource department
In place of offline survey, the researcher should select an online survey in the future in order
to be accurate and cost-effective (Survey Software Reviews, 2018).
The selected participants for the research must be interested in providing their valuation time
and feedback.
REFLECTION
Concrete Experience:

Human resource management is said to be the strategic approach used for effective
management of individuals in a business, such that they can support the business in attaining
competitive advantage (Hendry, 2012). From the above study, I have learned about different
human resource management skills such as organization, negotiation, conflict management,
and problem-solving, communication, etc. Besides this, it has supported me in building good
skills for research that can also be used in the future. Moreover, majorly I came to know
about the barriers to effective Human Resource Management.
Reflective Observation
The research has provided me with a clear understanding of different concepts related to
human resource management such as barriers, and strategies to overcome the barriers to
effective human resource management. While conducting the study, I have observed that my
communication and writing skills have improved a lot along with a clear understanding of the
research methodology.
Abstract Conceptualisation
With the support of this study, I got to know more about the concept of Abstract that is it
provides a short summary of any research thesis, detailed analysis of any specific subject,
article, conference preceding, or thesis, and mostly utilized to support the reader quickly
understand the purpose of the paper (Eco, 2015).

References
Debois, S. (2016) 9 Advantages and Disadvantages of Questionnaires [online]. Available
from https://surveyanyplace.com/questionnaire-pros-and-cons/ [accessed 18 December 2018]
Eco, U. (2015) How to Write a Thesis 1st ed. U.S: MIT Press.
Hendry, C. (2012) Human Resource Management 1st ed. U.S: Routledge.
Sue, V.M., and Ritter, L.A. (2012) Conducting Online Surveys 3rd ed. U.K: SAGE.
Survey Software Reviews (2018) Comparison between Offline and Online Surveys [online].
Available from http://www.survey-reviews.net/index.php/survey-software/comparison-
between-offline-and-online-surveys/ [accessed 18 December 2018]