Personnel to Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Personnel to Human Resource Management Essay Personnel management refers to a set of functions or activities including recruitment, training, pay and industrial relations performed effectively but often in isolation from each other or with overall organisation objectives. In 1991, Hilmer noted that the Australian tradition of many sub-specialities or functions (industrial relations, compensation, training and pay) was out of date. The early 1990s was an are of great speculation on the future of the functions in managing people. The concept Human Resource Management (HRM) began to influence the practice of integrating functions with each other and organisation objectives. Coppleston (1991) explained the HR function within any enterprise must first of all serve the organisation†¦ an investment area rather than a cost to the organisation. Reinforced by other writers, human resources should be viewed as human capital, and that HR managers should strive to use them as investment creating an environment where the appropriate strategy is likely to emerge. (Williams, 1991) Alternate perspectives of HRM emphasise either the effective management of employees through greater accountability and control, the greater involvement in decision making processes, or both of these. (Nankervis, Compton McCarthy, 1993) In countries such as Australia, the personnel management function arrived more slowly than its USA counterparts and came from a number of avenues. The orientation of personnel management was not entirely managerial. In the UK, its origins were traced to welfare officers where it became evident that there was an inherent conflict between their activities and those of line managers. There were not seen to have a philosophy compatible with the view of senior managers. The welfare officer orientation placed personnel management as a buffer between the business and the employees. In terms of organisational politics this was not a viable position for those wishing to further their careers, increase their status, earn high salaries or influence organisation performance. Industrial relations further compounded the distinction through their intermediary role between unions and line management. (Price, 2005) However, during the 1970s, many Australian organisations found themselves in turbulent business and economic climates with major competition from the USA, Europe and Asian markets. Concurrently, the Institute for Personnel Management (IPMA) and training institutions such as TAFE and universities were becoming more sophisticated in their approaches incorporating more  recent approaches such as Excellence and Total Quality Management. During this period the IPMA held national and international conferences, initiated relationships with the Asia-Pacific region, developed an accreditation process and the now titled Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. (Nankervis et al, 1993)By the 1980s, personnel had become a well-defined but low status area of management. Traditional personnel managers were accused of having a narrow, functional outlook. Storey (1989) comment that personnel management †¦has long been dogged by problems of credibility, marginality, ambiguity and a trash-can labelling which has relegated it to a relatively disconnected set of duties many of them tainted with a low status welfare connotation. In practice, the background and training of many personnel managers left them speaking a different language from other managers and unable to comprehend wider business issues such as business strategy, market competition, labour economics and the role of other organisational functions. (Price, 2005) This set the scene to integrate personnel management with wider trends in management thinking. In 1999 (cited in Gollan 2005), Hunt suggested, the key link to the success of the function lies in the struggle to acquire more influence, something that is being carried out in a climate of downsizing and outsourcing. Even the change of name from personnel to HR is indicative that the way people view and perform this role is changing with the new name communicating a desire to break with the past and to throw off an image that was limp and limiting†¦ The future of the HR function may be far from certain †¦ [however] †¦ In situations of uncertainty, it is the confident who win through †¦ I know of no organisation whose senior managers believe their company will operate, in the future, without any human beings. Whether ensuring the supply of those human beings resides in a function called HR or not is rather irrelevant. Such themes included human capital theory and human resource accounting, however, HRM gained further ground and prominence once introduced to the Harvard Business School MBA course in 1981. The four main approaches founded during the 1980s were: The strategic matching theories from the Michigan and  New York Schools; Multiple Stakeholders theory from the Harvard School; Political and Change Process Theory from the Warwick School and a Behavioural Transformation Theory from the Schuler School. (Price, 2005) Each theory expressed models that stress people as human resources which are a resource different to any other the organisation may have and therefore require to be managed differently. This could be conceived as rather confusing, however Townley (1994) argued that much of the confusion over the role of human resource managers is due to two factors: 1. The conflict between the welfare tradition of personnel management and the strategic orientation of more modern HRM and; 2. A gender divide between female or soft personnel management at lower management and administrative levels and male, hard nosed human resource managers within upper management. Benchmarking and best practice have become widely used terms in the past decade. HRM benchmarking is a process which provides knowledge of the key HR levers which are important to business outcomes; comparison with other businesses with better performance and ways of using that information to improve HR processes. This allows HR processes and outcomes to be quantified so that objectives can be set meaningfully and realistically. This was a revolutionary approach for many HR professionals who were used to subjective job descriptions and values with a focus on process rather than outcome which did not gain much credibility with other business units who were used to objective and quantifiable measures of performance. (Nankervis et al, 1993; Price, 2005) Vilinas and Harper (2005) explored the impact of performance management on staff, the organisation and the business. Performance management was found to be useful in improving role clarity, identifying and standardising performance objectives,, increasing performance feedback and assisting in the development of more useful and meaningful performance measures. The authors found that how performance management was viewed depended on the performance of the team. That is, if the team were performing well, it was viewed positively, if the team were not performing well, it was viewed negatively. Furthermore, Vilinas and Harper (2005), found difficulty in evaluating the impact of performance management systems in organisations. There fore it is difficult to determine the impact this human resource strategy on organisation performance in a  quantitative sense. Royal and ODonnell (2005), argue that qualitative human capital analysis would assist in predicting organisation sustainability and future financial performance by providing substantial evidence indicating the link between particular HR practices and organisation performance. These practices included learning and development, flexible work policies and performance management. The focus on long term relationships between the organisation and staff was the impact on organisation performance rather than an economic exchange. Exploring the impacts of downsizing on organisation performance, Farrell and Mavondo (2005) reported on the contradictory evidence in the literature about this relationship and surveyed manufacturing companies in order to test the impact. The findings concluded that when redesign of organisations drive downsizing the impact on the business is positive, but it is negative when the organisation redesign is driven by downsizing. This indicated that good HR practice linking with the organisation strategic plan is more likely to provide a positive business outcome. According to McGrath-Champ and Baird (2005), HRM practices and the role of HR and employee relations practitioners have been undergoing major changes since the 1980s. Particular changes include the shift to enterprise bargaining. The authors used data from numerous surveys aimed at exploring the changing role of HR practitioners and the implications on the skills required in order to fulfil the changed role. This, in turn, impacts on the capability of the HR area in its ability to support and influence organisational performance. Given that small business is a significant employer in Australia, Bartram (2005) found they are not as likely to use participative management techniques, invest in training in the area of employee relations or develop organisation strategy. However, without the use of HRM practices, small business can be effected detrimentally particularly in a global economic climate. The evidence suggests that organisation performance will usually benefit from the integration of human resource management and product and market strategies, improved understanding of the needs of employees at the workplace, and better use of their skill and ingenuity. Strategies designed to achieve a more comprehensive use of employees human potential, desire to learn, flexibility and personal responsibility would appear capable of delivering higher levels of performance (Gollan Davis, 1998). This is at the heart of the argument for more attention to HRM. Other things being equal, it will assist improve profitability through changing employee attitudes, overcoming resistance to change. (Gollan Davis, 1998) Moreover, there will be experience of mutual advantage. Management can benefit from improved performance and reduced levels of turnover and absenteeism and being an employer of choice in the current labour tight market. As a result employees may enjoy more job security, development opportunities, autonomy and incentives to take ownership and responsibility for quality outcomes. (West Patterson, 1998) While HRM approaches are worthwhile in terms of improving organisation performance, it can be difficult to measure the link between the improvement and the HR practice. The length of time can be fraught with problems when considering the impact of HRM on organisation performance. A short term consultation with staff could pay off years ahead in performance. The most difficult obstacle is in the change of organisation culture for both managers and employees in terms of leadership skills, strategy and resources for development. Based on research statistics of over 30 000 HR professionals, Brockbank (2005), stated the HR field is outstanding at doing what it says it will do, in terms of delivering the basic HR infrastructure activity †¦is an intersection of HR competencies and agendas that have to do with managing the culture, contributing to strategic decision making, managing change and creating process of information flows that continually integrate the organisation†¦ HR professionals are mediocre at this set of activities†¦ the logic of HRs role in bringing critical information about the external business world into the firm, disseminating it and using that information on  a broad scale within the organisation as the basis for integration, unity and ultimately organisational responsiveness. Brockbank (2005) further identified that HRs market driven connectivity rates at 17 per cent of strategic contributions impact on organisation performance. The direct impact of HR on business performance has increased about 300 per cent since 1992. This is factored around the shift from focusing on traditional personnel functions and moving towards strategic input into the organisations development coupled with technological change and a global economy. In other words, this indicates that in order to make an impact, HR needs to understand the business their organisation is in including the customers, shareholders and stakeholders. To surmise, the evidence suggests there is a great deal of participation taking place in Australia, (Morehead, Steele, Alexander, Stephen Duffin, 1997) however, findings from the research highlight the quality of many HRM practices need to be appropriate measured and reported in order to continue to develop the link between HR practices and organisation performance. From the research synthesised in this paper, it is evident that some human resource practices can contribute to high levels of organisational performance. Explored from a range of perspectives, the problems in demonstrating this relationship are highlighted. The number of dimensions to the problems making study comparisons difficult include: definitions used as a basis for the research; the ability to draw a relationship between human resource practices and organisational performance; methodological issues and; differences and variable measurement. There is further interest in identifying and demonstrating the impact HRM has on organisation performance none more highlighted than through the importance of people in the knowledge economy and organisation sustainability in a global market. References: Bartram, Timothy 2005, Small firms, big ideas: The adoption of human resource management in Australian small firms, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Brockbank, Wayne 2005, Turning Inside Out, HR Monthly, April. Coppleston Peter 1991, Present issues and future trends, HR Monthly, April p8-9Farrell, Mark A., Mavondo, Felix 2005, The effect of downsizing-redesign strategies on business performance: Evidence from Australia, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Gollan, Paul 2005, High involvement management and human resource sustainability: The challenges and opportunities, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Gollan, P. Davis, E. 1998, High involvement management and organisational change: Beyond rhetoric. Macquarie Graduate School of ManagementHilmer F 1991, Hilmer discusses the future for Australians at work, HR Monthly, August p9. McGrath-Champ, Susan Baird, Marian 2005, The mercurial nature of Australian HRM under enterprise bargaining, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Morehead, A., Steele, M., Alexander, M., Stephen, K. Duffin, L. 1997, Change at Work: The 1995 Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. Melbourne: LongmanNankervis, Alan R., Compton, Robert L. McCarthy, Terence E. 1993, Strategic Human Resource Management, Thomson Nelson Australia. Price Alan 2005, Human Resource Management in a Business Context, 2nd ednRoyal, Carol ODonnell, Loretta 2005, Embedding human capital analysis in the investment process: A human resources challenge, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43Storey, J. 1989, Human Resource Management: A Critical Text. Thomson Learning, 2nd ednTownley B. 1994, Reframing Human Resource Management: Power, Ethics and the Subject of Work, Sage. West, M. Patterson, M 1998. People Power: The link between job satisfaction and productivity. Centrepiece, Autumn, p2-5Williams Ross 1991, Transformation or chaos? HR in the 1990s, HR Monthly, November, p10. Vilinas, Tricia Harper, Sarah (2005), Determining the impact of an organisations performance management system, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol 43

Essay --

There are several interactions that happen between species. They include competition, mutualism, predation, parasitism, and disease. Each one of these can affect organisms either in a positive or negative way. These are all important for organisms to evolve and become the best fit of their species. Without these interactions species would never change and would die out very easily when faced with tough environments. Competition is always over the supply of a limited resource. There are two types of competition: intraspecific and interspecific. Intraspecific is competition between the same species. This is usually beneficial to the species as a whole because it results in the best fit organism. Interspecific is competition between different species and is known to be detrimental to both species. There are three principles that apply to competition. Competition exclusion principle is when two species live together and occupy the same niche and eventually one species will out compete the other and replace it in that environment. The second principle is niche overlap which means that when two species live together over a large area one species will replace the other in part of that area. The last principle, character displacement, is when two species live together and initially occupy the same niche they may evolve to become different over time in order to avoid competition. When more than one spec ies occupy the same niche and are very similar it is common for one of them to become specialized in that area. For example if two birds are eating the same food one may develop a different beak over time in order to hunt for a different food. Mutualism is another important species interaction. Mutualism is a relationship that is benefi... ... but similar areas. They put some in isolation and some went into a mixture of other species. It was discovered that the species in the mixture evolved more diversely than those that were in isolation. They also discovered that the mixture of species changed the way they used resources. This showed that the species that evolved together were more productive than the species in isolation. The final conclusion was that â€Å"species interactions can have a major effect on evolutionary dynamics, which can in turn influence ecosystems functioning† (Timothy G Barraclough). I found the academic journals to be the most helpful. They provided a lot of information. Academic journals are the most reliable source when writing a paper because they are peer reviewed and are accurate in a specified field. All my articles stated the same information so there were no inconsistences.

Inspector Goole

Inspector Goole in Priestley’s play An Inspector Calls’ is arguably the most important character. An agent of change and a voice and a voice of personal and social conscience he delivers the main message of the play in his parting speech challenging the Birlings, and the audience, to â€Å"Remember† that there are â€Å"millions and millions† of people like Eva Smith, all â€Å"linked† in some way. Clearly at this stage his examination of the Birlings behaviour and the investigation of the suicide of Eva Smith proves he is the voice of morality.Goole states â€Å"we don’t live alone† and are â€Å"responsible for each other†. This message is in direct contrast to the one delivered by Arthur Birling at the start of the play where he claims a man has to â€Å"look after himself and his own† I believe it is no coincidence that Inspector Goole joins the play at this point and sets the tone for the conflict the two are going t o have throughout the entirety of the play.The way that Inspector Goole conducts his â€Å"investigation† of sorts not only exposes Eva Smiths tragic â€Å"chain of Events† which leads to her eventual suicide but also enables the audience to understand each individual characters role in Eva’s death for Sheila getting her fired from her last steady job and Arthur Birling caring to much about â€Å"lower costs and higher prices† than his workers welfare.Goole is very clear when informing the Birlings and Gerald Croft of the way he like to â€Å"go to Work†! He states he will use â€Å"one line of inquiry† at a time. He feels to do otherwise would result in a â€Å"muddle†. Certainly his way of investigation highlights his polar opposite opinion to Arthur Birling whereas he believes in a â€Å"butterfly effect† where each character has individually contributed to the downward spiral of Eva Smith’s life. Goole exposes the gu ilt of each character.The Birlings seem, at the beginning of the play to be a respectable â€Å"up market† family even Gerald Croft comments that they appear a â€Å"nice well behaved† family, but Goole shows this too all be a fake disguise when he reveals through his research methods that they are actually a family which thinks they are â€Å"socially† superior and one that is totally centred around power this statement is proved when Arthur Birling says â€Å" ex Lord Mayor† and â€Å" I was on the bench† and this so fought over power is abused many times in the book by the haracters for example when Gerald Croft uses his monetary advantage to abuse Eva for sex and when Sheila uses her father’s name to get Eva fired from her job at Millwoods. The Inspector quickly creates a conflict between the age generations with the elders staying â€Å"stuck in their ways† and not taking any kind of responsibility for their role in Eva Smithâ₠¬â„¢s death, whereas the younger generation know they have to â€Å"share the guilt† respectively as they are all to blame for Eva’s death.When Priestly wrote this play I believe he invented the character Inspector Goole to spread his message of â€Å"responsibility† through his dialogue this point is proved on many occasions when the inspector speaks to the Birlings about how they must â€Å"take responsibility† for their actions† and â€Å"share the guilt†. He also has a massive speech just before he leaves the Birlings house to round off everything he has tried to get them to learn. Which even though they later find out he was not actually an Inspector teaches the younger generation at lesson about â€Å"responsibility† and the effect their actions had on others.

The Israel-Palestine Conflict - 3449 Words

2) Hamas won legislative elections but lost the presidential election and it is the president who conducts negotiations. The reason was the electorates disgruntlement with Fatahs corruption. Perhaps that is also a component of its failure to make peace? ME Public opinion polls among Palestinians consistently show high levels of support for the two-state solution, which averaged 82-87% in 2000-07, while 73-77% favored reconciliation between the two peoples and 66-71% joint economic ventures between an Israeli and Palestinian state (Dowty, p. 190). At the same time, the majority of Israelis supported the two-state solution, although 30-40% remained opposed for religious, nationalist or security reasons. Palestinians supported ongoing attacks against Israel not to overthrow the government or take over the country and drive out the Jews, or because of irrational hatred of Jews and Israel, but only because of the continuing military occupation and expansion of settlements. Camp David didnt fail because of Israel but because according to the most pro-Arab primary account (Agha Malley) Arafat walked out after having said no to everything. At Taba, Arafat ran out the clock on negotiations. Followed by burning the olive branch extended by Peres at Davos. Later he would refuse to implement the steps required at the outset of Phase I of the Roadmap to Peace. ME At the Taba negotiations in 2000, Israel wished to annex or lease about 8% of the West Bank, while theShow MoreRelatedIsrael And Palestine Conflict Between Palestine And Israel1303 Words   |  6 Pagesborders between Palestine and Israel have been unfair. The Israeli people have taken a majority of the Palestinians land. This had caused conflict between these two territories for years. The Israel and Palestine conflict has been going on for many decades and nothing seems to be able to solve this issue. All because the Israeli government is very stubborn. 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