Factors Affecting Human Resource Management

Each company aims at making good returns on its inputs. This can be achieved through good management of all sections of the company. Companies aim at getting the best talents so that they can have the maximum output. Therefore, human resource managers tend to focus on good and acceptable frameworks of compensation, recruitment and selection as well as training of employees.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Factors Affecting Human Resource Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Much as the work of human resource managers may seem easy given the fact that there are very many people looking for employment, some factors pose challenges to human resource management. Due to globalization, firms have expanded to foreign countries and decisions regarding where employees should come from has become complicated. Moreover, culture is different in different places and human resource managers have to put this int o consideration when designing any policy that affects employees. On the same note, employees’ demand differs from one place to another and from time to time and this has to be factored into any policy. Nevertheless, it is important to answer the question of whether these factors affect all companies regardless of whether they are multinational or not. For the sake of clarity, it is important to give some definitions before embarking on further discussions. Culture is a term used to define a community’s set of rules, values, morals and beliefs that shape people’s lives and day-to-day activities. Culture determines the behavior that people will consider as being good or bad as well as what society would consider as being uncouth treatment of others (Dowling, Festing Engle 2008). On the other hand, geographical dispersion is used to refer to the physical positioning of company branches in various parts of the world. Arguably, as a company expands and opens more b ranches whether locally or internationally, cultural effects become more pronounced. Rationalization refers to the act of streamlining workflow of a company so as to suit the desired goals. It involves using the available means of production to increase output. On the other hand, differentiation means the idea of having people performing specific duties only. It may also include dedication of various departments to specific functions.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Notably, culture of people is responsible for their behavior and general code of conduct. In this regard, it is vital that one understands culture of people whenever he or she wants to interact with them. It should be noted that what is considered to be right behavior in one community may be completely obscene in another society. A good case study is that of people from the Middle East compared to people from Europe or America. While men and women working together in the same offices is the order of the day in Europe and America, this is not allowed in the Middle East, especially United Arab Emirates. Regarding compensation and benefits of employees, human resource managers are expected to come up with a good plan that would be accepted by all employees (Punnett 2012). Compensation plans cannot be generalized for all branches given that cultures are relatively diverse. If for example a human resource manager wants to come up with compensation plan to encourage hard work among employees, culture will be the determinant on whether a fixed package or a flexible package will be effective (Belout, Dolan Saba 2001). Take for example, a company that has branches in France and Canada. The remuneration program to encourage hard work in Canada can be fixed by management. Nevertheless, this cannot be applicable in France because the French people believe in freedom of expression. Therefore, in France, a flexible plan where employees choose what to be given will be effective. On the same note, selection and recruitment is another important function of human resource department. Every human resource manager wants to have people who can help the company to move forward. Big companies especially multinational firms face a lot of challenges when it comes to recruitment and selection. In some countries, strict adherence to company values is paramount. However, in other countries professional qualification is crucial. Human resource managers have also to change their age requirements depending on the country they are operating given that different cultures give emphasis to different age sets (Sengupta 2007). While full description of job requirements is vital in some countries like Canada, other countries like France consider that as an abuse. Therefore, human resource managers are always met with the dilemma of deciding what to include in the job description and what to leav e out.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Factors Affecting Human Resource Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Employees need to be continuously trained so that they can develop their skills and improve their performance. It is the initiative of human resource managers to determine who will go for training and when (Belout, Dolan Saba 2001). Different cultural orientation determines how people will take any initiative. While some people will be comfortable with mechanical training schedules where management has the final say on who will be trained, others like to be trained on their own initiative. It is important to note that the problem is complicated by the fact that people from different cultural backgrounds work in the same branch yet they demand different treatment. It has been noted that in Canada, flexible programs for training and development are applicable. However, fixed training progra ms are effective in France. Most importantly, human resource management is about managing people in a given institutional setting. However, geographical dispersion means that people from different cultural and religious backgrounds are employed in the same organization. In addition, these people usually have different moral and ethical behaviors. Human resource managers are expected to treat all employees without discrimination while at the same time religious and cultural backgrounds should be given consideration. Managing these people is a daunting task for managers of both international and local firms (Dowling, Festing Engle 2008). Muslims must be given time to pray during working hours and this should not offend Christians. Geographical dispersion is also another factor that highly influences decisions made by human resource managers. Decisions made and agreed by one branch in a given location cannot be imposed to another branch. What is considered legal in one country can be illegal in another country. In this regard, human resource managers of multinational countries are required to be aware of the legal framework of any region in which the firm operates. Notably, some countries have age limits which people should attain before being allowed to get employed.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Consequently, when designing recruitment procedures human resource managers will have to put into consideration the legal requirements of the region they are operating in. On the same note, labor unions have varying strength depending on the region. In determining the compensation package of the employees, human resource managers should consider demands of labor unions. Unfortunately, it is difficult to forecast the influence that labor unions will have (Sparrow 2010). On the same note, geographical dispersion means that human resource managers will have to run their companies from a distance most of the times. As a result, it becomes difficult for the managers to know when one member of a team needs training and development. Arguably, geographical dispersion has made recruitment and selection very difficult since human resource managers do not have enough time to select the most qualified individuals (Price 2011). If a company has its headquarters in U.S. and a branch in Taiwan, it will have to use different recruitment procedures in each country. Moreover, geographical dispersion increases the distance between employees and human resource managers. As a result, upward and downward communication becomes a problem. It is very possible that messages from either end can be miss understood thus leading to a lot of problems. The crux of the matter is that human beings usually communicate well when they are familiar with somebody (Zanko 2003). Unfortunately, geographical dispersion reduces the contact between employees and employers. Compensation is also a problem brought about by geographical dispersion. Human resource managers need to come up with compensation plans that would be fair to people in all regions. Nevertheless, working conditions in various parts are not similar. A person working in Iraq definitely faces different conditions from the one working in Sweden. Consequently, it is not difficult to find people with the same job description earning differen t amounts of income. Employees in remote areas need to feel as valued as those in urban areas. On the other hand, the compensation program in different geographical regions should be done in a way that will not result into conflict. This becomes tricky to the human resource managers who are supposed to compensate every employee accordingly and at the same time make all employees feel equally valued (MacCourt Eldridge 2003). As far as training and development is concerned, people from various regions will have to be trained using different programs due to obvious reasons which include language difference. It is important to note that given the diversity of people from various regions, their reception to certain issues is different. There are regions where demand for more sophisticated goods and services is high and these will need continuous technological advancement. Similarly, there are other people who do not need too much sophistication (Lawler Hundley 2008). It is difficult to determine when training is required for people who do not take personal initiatives to get trained. Demand of consumers is changing everyday and people require high quality goods at reduced prices. As a result, human resource managers are expected to offer compensation that will be cost effective (Jackson 2002). It is tricky to determine the type of compensation that would not reduce earnings of the company. Moreover, customers have different tastes and prevalence which means that production has to be changed from time to time. Employees also have different tastes and preferences. As the number of employees increase so does their needs. It is important to note that unless the needs of employees are met, their productivity will remain below expectation. However, with increased number of employees and ever dynamic needs, it is difficult to determine which need to satisfy first. Rationalization of company processes has become unavoidable. With increased competition especially for inte rnational firms, local market share of every company is shrinking. It has therefore become necessary for firms to embrace profit maximization strategies. As minimal resources as possible should be used in production of commodities. This means that human capital should also be minimized. The best talents should be brought into the firm to increase output. This requires human resource managers to have in place selection policies that can enable them to get the best employees (Edwards Rees 2011). Unfortunately, designing the job specifications in the wake of dynamic job demands is very difficult. The matter is even complicated by the fact that requirements are different in various places. It is the prayer of every human resource manager that his or her work would be made easier by using uniform frameworks for the whole firm. Every human being wants to have an easy ride in the work place. This would have been the case for human resource managers if the firms had only one branch with fe w employees. However, firms want to expand their scale of operation. On the same note, local markets are becoming unsustainable and this is pushing firms into international markets. As a result, firms face cultural diversity and geographical dispersion among other factors. This makes human resource management very difficult given that each employee is supposed to be satisfied. The issue is made difficult because employees are the pillars of firms. Nevertheless, it should be noted that these factors are not unique to multinational firms only. Local firms, whether they have foreign operations or not, face these problems. Reference List Belout, A, Dolan, L Saba, T 2001, ‘Trends and emerging practices in human resource management – The Canadian scene’, International Journal of Manpower, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 207 – 215. Dowling, P, Festing, M Engle SR 2008, International Human Resource Management, Cengage Learning, Melbourne. Edwards, K Rees, C 2011, Internati onal Human Resource Management, Pearson, Harlow. Jackson, T 2002, International HRM: A Cross-Cultural Approach, SAGE Publishers Thousand Oaks. Lawler, JJ Hundley, GS 2008, Global Diffusion of Human Resource Practices: Institutional and Cultural Limits, Emerald Group Publishing, Bingley. MacCourt, W Eldridge, D 2003, Global Human Resource Management: Managing People in Developing and Transnational Countries, Edward Elgar Publishing, Northampton. Price, T 2011, Human Resource Management, Cengage Learning, Stanford. Punnett, BJ 2012, International Perspectives on Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management, M.E. Sharpe, Haverhill. Sengupta, N 2007, International Human Resource Management, Excel Books India, Manchester. Sparrow, P 2010, Handbook of International Human Resource Management: Integrating people, Process, and Context, John Wiley Sons, Hoboken. Zanko, M 2003, The Handbook of Human Resource Management Policies and Practices In Asia-Pacific Economies, Edward Elgar Publishing, Northampton. This research paper on Factors Affecting Human Resource Management was written and submitted by user Jadon Brooks to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.