HR - Findings and Frontiers

Sharika Gupta

As the human capital takes center stage in today's economy, the HR function is becoming a strategic powerhouse in organizations. The article highlights the areas in which HR managers and executives will need to excel and a/so focuses on the ethical issues in HR. The author perceives diversity as enriching an organization's human capital and lays stress on the several ways in which international HRM differs from domestic HRM. Read on...

"Nothing endures but change."

Recent times certainly have proven this maxim to be true. Starting with the Internet boom through the recent economic downturn and on to today's anticipation of recovery, companies have been forced to continuously adjust their corporate strategies to keep up with the relentless pace of change in the economic environment.

The human resource function has been at the center of this period of upheaval. During the economic good times, companies looked to HR to attract, retain and motivate the critical-skill workers necessary for rapid business growth. As the economy cooled, organizations depended on HR to find ways to reduce costs while getting the most from existing, limited, resources. Now, as the focus shifts to recovery, HR executives must ensure their workforces have the skills required to restore organizational competitiveness and to contribute to long-term business objectives.

As the human capital takes center stage in today's economy the HR function is becoming a strategic powerhouse in organizations. The HR's strategic race begins with designing HR architecture i.e. the HR functions, HR systems and strategic employee behaviors that relentlessly emphasize and reinforce the' implementation of the organizations strategy.

Summing, up the importance of Human Resource:

"You can take my factories and-burn up my buildings, but give me my people and I'll build it right back again"

- Henry Ford

HR COMPETENCIES- The Strategic "Powerhouse"

What will it take to succeed as an HR professional hi the next decade? Recent research reveals that HR managers and executives will heed to excel in a number of areas, including HR delivery, strategic contribution, business knowledge, HR technology and personal credibility. The new avatar of HR is the knowledge professional that is innovative, business savvy quick on the uptake, has an instinctive ability to network and possessing unbridled ambition. They are propelled by an urge to experiment & scan new avenues that can spur their creativity. This knowledge professional will gravitate to an organization that is flexible has strong values, a robust performance ethic and provides challenging work on latest technology.

EMERGING TRENDS IN HR

"The world hates change, Yet it is the only thing that has brought progress"

- Kettring

Trends or fads emerge constantly dealing with issues such as organizational culture and strategy, personal development, staff retention etc. Pervasive use of technology …. work place stress... sluggish economic growth ...ageing workers... soaring benefit? costs...increased security concerns... greater government scrutiny... HR is at the center of powerful forces that are changing the way organizations do business. Thee new ways of doing business are requiring new ways of utilizing people...and putting unprecedented demands on HR.

Trends in technology are changing the way we do business and they may have the power to change the very nature of work. The pervasive use of technologies like the Internet and wireless telecommunications means that thousands of workers have been or will be freed from the bonds of time and location. Workers in many industries will be able to work when they want, from where they want. The good news is that this could make them happier and thus more productive employees. Employers also will be able to choose from a much wider labor pool due to fewer restrictions on where work gets done.

But there also may be a downside to this freedom as the line between work time and personal time becomes blurred. The 24/7 nature of work may produce tremendous gains in productivity, but it also increases stress on employees. Companies are, thus, constantly striving towards enhancing the quality of work life and also the personal life of its employees' and this does not stop with the employees but gets extended to his or her family as well. In house health clubs, yoga and meditation centers to relieve stress, sports and cultural activities and the like are being provided by companies.

Also the external economic environment plays an important role. While few people consider the cost of the war on terrorism to be a workplace issue, the tremendous outlays associated with the war, both at home and abroad, are likely to influence the future tax cuts/reforms, pension reform, health care funding, and so on - issues that trickle down to affect employers as frustrated employees turn to them to fill in the gaps.

Another emerging trend is the downsizing. Management of issues of downsizing poses a permanent challenge to the HR managers. Perhaps one of the sensitive challenges, which a human resource manager or a personnel manager has to face today, is the problem of managing redundancy. Competition has become tough and thanks to globalization, even within the domestic market, the intensity of competition in every sector is increasing, When competition increases, one can attract and retain a customer only by giving better quality goods and services, Quality takes a major share in deciding success in the market place. But then ultimately an enterprise also has to take care of its bottom line. So, it becomes necessary for any manager, any enterprise to think in terms of keeping the costs to the minimum while trying to improve the market share, profitability and productivity.

To conclude, change is here to stay, and we need to understand that all the practices that are working today may not be necessarily there tomorrow. Customer's expectations, market changes and strategies decisions will derive the tools to managing human assets.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN HR – The Corporate "Conscience"

Doing the" right" thing as an HR professional is sometimes easier said than done in today's corporate environment. But, no matter show tough it is, HR must rise to the challenge. There is simply too much at stake to do otherwise. Organizations need to have a philosophy in place that explains their general corporate values. It should define the values a company wants to practice. However, simple incantation of these rules would never guarantee" moral behavior. Only when they are practiced from the top down can they be inspiring. From establishing­ guiding principles to devising systems for reporting and investigation to sometimes simply just standing up for what's right, HR professionals have a critical role to play in creating ethical cultures within" their organizations. The ethical code needs to specify duties of employees towards their company and suppliers or customers. However, the more specific they are the more tempting it becomes to flaunt them. The best course of action is to foster a positive commitment. Personnel training and monitoring, to motivate the staff to apply the spirit behind the rules is one such action.

CONDUCTING THE BAND:

The management of diversity goes beyond equal opportunity. Instead of merely allowing a greater range of people the opportunity to 'fit in' or to be an honorary large, white male, the concept of diversity embodies the relief that people should be valued for their difference and variety. Diversity is perceived to enrich an "Organization's human capital. Whereas equal opportunity focuses on various disadvantaged groups the management of diversity is about individuals. It entails a minimization of cloning in selection and promotion procedures and a model of resourcing aimed at finding flexible employees.

Every day, our country is becoming more diverse and our workforce reflects that rich diversity. Increasing numbers of women/ non-traditional families, immigrants, Hispanics/older workers and people with disabilities in the workforce may mean change as well as important opportunities. Human resource professionals will need to tailor workplace policies to fit the needs of the increasingly diverse workforce by offering flextime, sabbaticals, technology training/ cultural training/ and childcare or elder care assistance on a much greater level than now offered. Perhaps more importantly/ basic assumptions about employment policies such as compensation, benefits and training may need to be rethought in order to better serve the needs of workforce diversity.

MEASURING HUMAN CAPITAL

"When people go to work, they should not have to leave their hearts at home."

- Betty Bender

. Human Capital Index is emerging as a measure of understanding the development of human capital. Human capital is becoming increasingly recognized as the most important element because all of us are today in the knowledge economy. There was a time when material content in any product was more than the technology element. On the other hand, 90% of the price of software like Windows would be for the technology and only 10% for the material. It is therefore rightly said that we are all in the knowledge economy. In the knowledge economy/ technology is important. Technology is congealed knowledge and that resides in the minds of the people. Hence the importance of human beings. There was a time when human beings were called human resources on par with the physical and the financial resources. Now they are treated as valuable assets and capital because it is the human beings who are going to come up with ideas to give the competitive edge for any enterprise or even a country in the knowledge economy. Organizations now apply a systematic approach of measuring individual competencies, which help build ongoing snapshots of the overall knowledge capital of the organization. This information is thereafter used to perform individual and organizational analysis, reduce education costs, improve hiring practices, improve retention, improve HR performance and developmental planning processes.

INTERNATIONAL HR

"Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, and working together is success”.

- Henry Ford

The environment in which business competes today is rapidly becoming globalised. More and more companies are entering the international markets by exploiting their products overseas, building plants in other companies and entering into alliances with foreign companies. Even organizations without foreign operations are affected by global developments. For companies large and small competition today comes from around the world, not just around the corner. From the push for paid leave to changes in pensions to growing security concerns, the future direction of HR increasingly will be shaped by events that take place outside its boundaries.

International human resource management- differs from domestic human resource management in several ways. First of all, it places greater emphasis on functions and activities such as relocation orientation and translation services to help ­employees adapt to a new and different environment outside their own country. Large corporations have a full time staff, of HR managers devoted to assisting-globalization.

Secondly, the selection process for an international assignment should provide a true picture of the life, work and culture to, which, the employees may be sent. HR. managers should prepare a comprehensive description on the job to be done and the responsibilities, which may be unusual in home country.

Sharika Gupta,
E-Commerce, MCSE, MBA, Phd (Pursuing),
Rai Business School, Rai University
Phone: 26959000 (Extn: 336)
Personal Ph: 9811093921
Personal e-mail: sharika_gupta@hotmail.com