Role of Hr in Organization

The role of a Human Resource department is ever changing in today’s volatile business environment. Over the years HR have become strong strategic partners within an organization by providing functions such as recruitment,

Indicative Content: Understand key contemporary business issues affecting the HR function within private, public and third sector organisations. Types of organisation; the role of management within them; ways in which HR is delivered; the main functional areas of management; the search for sustained organisational performance, business

The role of a Human Resource department is ever changing in today’s volatile business environment. Over the years HR have become strong strategic partners within an

It is more people orientated and a knowledge based service underpinned by well-established policies and procedures responsible for empowering the workforce to be able to provide services. As a result you will find that HR within the public sector especial that of local authorities is larger and multilayered with a division of specialist disciplines such are recruitment, training and development and employee relations. The negative impact of HRM within the public sector can be observed by the policies and procedures that are driving it. HRM becomes a discipline of policing and reinforcing the adhering of policies and procedures. Unlike the private sector this style of HRM draws away from managerial integration to a separate secular entity.

The current function of HR can be defined as supporting “the delivery of the organisation’s strategy and objectives through the effective management of people and performance” (Taylor & Woodhams, 2012; 22). This definition is furthered by a CIPD survey (2007; 2-3), which indicated that the key functions of HR are: recruiting and retaining staff, progressing performance management to maximise the value of employees and increasing employee engagement.

Wright and McMahan (1994) define strategic HRM as “the pattern of planned Human Resource deployments and activities intended to enable the organisation to achieve its goals.” A HR function should impact the success of an organisation; a policy must remain current and suitable to both the internal and external environment. Ulrich and Lake (1990) affirm, ‘HRM systems can be the source of organisational capabilities that allow organisations to learn and capitalise on new opportunities.’

‘Customers do want an HR function with strategic business impact, but this is about solving problems that are strategically important for the business, not about separate HR strategies’ (Hirsh et al)

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Q1: Why is it important for HR Management to transform from being primarily administrative and operational to becoming more strategic contributor?

Strategic HR responsibilities surpass transactional duties. These responsibilities have to do with an ongoing support of the organizational long-term goals. This is where “strategy meets the market place” so that when “the economy moves from recession to recovery” the company is prepared to move with it (Cascio, 2005). The Strategic HR process looks ahead using organizational strategy as the guideline to building organizational readiness.

Whether an organization consists of five or 25,000 employees, human resources management is vital to the success of the organization. HR is important to all managers because it provides managers with the resources – the employees – necessary to produce the work for the managers and the organization. Beyond this role, HR is capable of becoming a strong strategic partner when it comes to “establishing the overall direction and objectives of key areas of human resource management in order to ensure that they not only are consistent with but also support the achievement of business goals.” (Massey, 1994, p. 27)

HR’s strategic management responsibilities include collaborating with other departments and leadership to plan, incorporate change initiatives, and provide tools which measure the effectiveness of HR in reaching organizational goals (Reed & Bogardus, 2012). As Anca-Ioana (2013) pointed out, it is crucial that HR participate in strategic planning and management processes in order to develop a workforce of employees who possess the competencies needed to achieve organizational objectives.

For the past three decades, privatizing some Human Resource functions or the whole HR department in the public sector became prominent, as Public Human Resource Management (PHRM) was

HR managers and HR professionals are taking much more of a proactive approach on the management team than ever before. The strategic HR approach is involved in variety of tasks ranging from strategic planning to decision making and coordinating all Human Resources functions for all employees (Schlesinger, Leonard A 1983).

In recent years, HR roles have assumed significance as an important domain of research. Dowling and Schuler (1990) have argued that the function has moved away from an administrative housekeeping role to one that makes a major contribution to strategic planning and design of the organization. This argument is in line with other researchers (e.g. Beatty & Ulrich, 2001; Caldwell, 2003; Collings, 2006; Lemmergard, 2006). Therefore the focus of the HR managers must be on the strategic issues if they have to become a part of management of the organization in a more holistic sense. Apart from these studies conducted on HR roles in the West, there is a growing need to determine the readiness of the HR professionals to play more strategic roles especially in the context of Asia (Bhatnagar & Sharma, 2005; Chen et al., 2003; Selmer & Chiu, 2004; Khatri & Budhwar, 2001). Although HR roles have been studied comprehensively by several researchers (e.g. Dyer, 1983; Schuler, 1990; Beer, 1997; Ulrich, 1997; Carroll, 1991; Jackson & Schuler, 2000), a number of researchers have explored the transformations in these HR roles in recent times (Azmi 2008; Beatty & Sheniener 1997; Beatty & Ulrich 2001; Bowen et al., 2002; Caldwell 2003; Collings 2006; Scullion & Starkey 2001; Novicevic & Harvey 2001; Sheehan, 2005).