Human Recourse

Human Recourse

Abstract

The human resource (HR) function is experiencing considerable change with pressure to demonstrate added value and a trend to outsourcing. This paper aims to examine the early careers and career development of HR professionals in this time of change, and to consider the development implications for employers, the individuals themselves and providers of management education.

Article:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=Article&Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/1370010107.html

Retrieved on 19 May 2010

Introduction

According to the article, recent major transformations in the workplace have resulted in the human resource (HR) function experiencing considerable change (CIPD, 2005; Scott-Jackson et al., 2005). There has been a good deal of interest in “business partnering” which involves the re-structuring of HR into three specialist functions of strategic partners, centres of excellence and shared services, along the lines advocated by Ulrich (1995). The professional body for personnel and HR professionals, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, has been striving to raise the profile of HR along these lines, promoting the notion of those working in HR as “thinking performers” and working with the higher education sector to reposition the professional HR qualification at postgraduate level. In contrast, there is also evidence that there is a growing trend to outsource human resource activities, mainly for cost and efficiency reasons and that such outsourcing may pose potential threats to job security for those working in the profession by reorganising jobs into dedicated call centres. In the face of these apparently contradictory developments, what are the consequences for HR professionals and their own career development?

It is well documented that the traditional view of careers saw people in orderly employment arrangements consisting of a steady series of upward moves with increasing income, status, power and security, generally within a single, mainly large and stable organisation (Arthur, 1994; Hall, 1996). This perspective suggested that, in the past, careers were oriented externally towards the person. More recently, commentators such as Cappelli (2000) have argued that the order and predictability associated with the traditional career is no longer the norm and that today's careers are more internally-oriented, flexible and mobile, with goals defined by individual workers. In this context, it is suggested, rapid job change will be common, with more temporary work, more portfolio work and more self-employment. In the UK, there is considerable debate as to the evidence to support these claims, with Coats (2005) in particular claiming that the trends are overstated.

This study will focus on the early careers of HR professionals, to determine the extent to which they conform with the “new” careers and to consider the development implications for employers, the individuals themselves and providers of management education. The paper begins by reviewing relevant literature concerning career development, then considers previous research covering HR careers, before presenting the findings of the current study.

Participant

The current study was carried out using self-report questionnaires that were distributed to participants on a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management in the Faculty of Business and Management at the University of Ulster. The 71 participants were educated to third level, and all but ...