HRM AND THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

HRM and the External Environment

HRM and External Environment

Introduction

Today many organizations are under pressure to improve performance. Organizations are experiencing massive changes in the demands for products and services they provide. This has increased the need for organizations to not only improve the way they deliver services, but also to examine their practices, organizational mission and goals, performance objectives, and performance measures. Thus, there is a new emphasis on the human factors associated with organizational goals and performance. The effective management of people within the organization is important to the organization's efficiency and effectiveness. HRM consists of all the tasks involved in ensuring the effective and efficient use of the people inside the organization to meet an organization's goals and objectives. The process of effective management of people means cultivating effective work environments, fostering employee participation and contribution to the organization's success. Therefore, all the issues and aspects related to HRM and External Environment will be discussed in detail.

Overview of HRM Practices

Human resource management practices may be viewed as supervisory practices. However, the review of the literature revealed a broader and more contemporary definition of HRM practices that focuses on the constructs of inclusion of the human elements for the efficient operation of the organization. Consequently, the researcher chose the following operational definition to identify those factors that influence the relation between managers and subordinates within an organization: HRM practices are the activities and tasks that a supervisor or manager engages in to manage and support the activities of the organization's most valuable resource- human beings. Thus, human resource management practices are the functions in an organization that focus on the management of people. They are practices and activities supervisors and managers utilize to support, develop, and guide employees. Many of the traditional HR practices, such as recruitment, selection, job design, and compensation are important factors and are included in efforts to reform HRM in government organizations (Bassett-Jones, 2005, 943).

Current Challenges in HRM

Public sector human resource management in the 21st century is an organizational role that focuses on meeting the challenges of attracting, retaining, managing, and developing highly qualified and motivated people needed by today's government organizations. Current literature supports this idea. For example, much of today's literature indicates that HRM is being reinvented and is experiencing constant challenges to satisfy the needs and expectations of the workforce. Researchers have found that human resource managers must now respond to changes in the nature of HRM, current practices, policies, organization mission, and vision Significant reforms because of legislative, policy, and technological changes are influencing dramatic changes in HRM practices and organizational performance perspectives in many organizations. For example, studies indicate that diversity management is important to U.S. organizations as groups that have historically been in the minority continue to grow. The employment of a more diverse workforce requires organizations to change practices, behaviors, and attitudes to enhance performance and quality of work life. In addition, the inclusion of supervisors and managers in line operations is crucial to ...