HRM



HRM

Outline

Introduction

Traditional organizational boundaries are a thing of the past as new technology is developed and global market places are readily opening and expanding. The plethora of new business opportunities for many domestic businesses as well as the typical challenges faced by global companies have caused corporations to revisit and revise their human resources management strategies to inculcate the rapidly changing world of technology. With the challenges of managing the increasing diversity in the workplace, technological advances that enhance business opportunities, increased global business and an expanding customer base, strategic mergers and acquisitions between unlikely entities, and even changes in an organization's focus to incorporate other services and products, businesses have had to intelligently adapt and evolve.

Trends and issues in global HRM

Consequently, managing global human resources initiatives in a rapidly changing business environment can be both challenging and rewarding. Selecting priorities categorically may not always be the best option to address significant issues, concerns or changes. In fact, many global based companies incorporate team-based or department -based approaches to simultaneously dealing with such issues as managing a culturally diverse workplace; inculcating technological advances; forming strategic alliances; or researching business trends that could affect an entity's general functioning. HR is responsible for setting and managing the overall functioning of the human resources departments and their associated activities.

Transformational and transactional HRM strategies

A transformational plan was developed in March 2000 to enhance the effectiveness of HR programs and services, foster a consultative approach to delivering HR programs and services, develop human resources as a strategic business partner and change agent with agency management, and create the capacity to incorporate HR best practices into state HR systems. This article also provides the HR vision for change, the training design to transform HR into a business partner and change agent, and the methodology and data that support this transformational plan. An innovative multiyear project-based learning design, featuring teams from state agencies, used workshop content to leverage system change across state departments. Finally, this article documents the change projects designed and implemented by agency teams, reports participants' reactions, communicates skill-set and mindset enhancements, and presents ideas for future diffusion.

HR specialists have typically been trained to perform transactional tasks in governmental settings. These transactional tasks include position classification, benefits, applicant tracking, and day-to-day labor contract administration. By performing these traditional roles, HR professionals provide valuable services to the department that they serve. Nevertheless, these services are often thought of as a cost to the organization rather than a benefit. A number of people have noted the need for HR specialists to move beyond these traditional roles and thus provide more valued-added services. These services include helping government agencies decrease operating costs, improve work processes, and facilitate the smooth transition to new technology and other innovations in the workplace.

While a number of people have expressed the need for HR specialists to gain new skills and to be seen as more relevant and valuable within government agencies, there are few examples of wholesale efforts to make ...