MANAGING HUMAN CAPITAL ASSIGNMENT

Managing Human Capital Assignment

Managing Human Capital Assignment

Introduction to Human resource Management

Human resource planning is usually seen as an essential feature of the ideal-type model of human resource management, even if it does not always appear to be given high priority in practice. An ideal-type feature of human resource management is the assumption of a "developmental" approach to employees, which appears to imply some form of systematic management of the assessment and augmentation of their ability, in relation to business needs. Moreover, the other major feature or output of the human resource management model is the emphasis on commitment to the goals of the organization, in which techniques of reward and career development may play a significant part and for which human resource planning may be important.

An illustration of a strategic human resource management model which is integrated with business strategy formulation, and not merely derived from it, has been developed by Butler et al. (1991). They show that combining human resource planning with strategic planning enables the firm to cope with contingencies, such as mergers, international operations and corporate entrepreneurs-or others. They include provision for some of the unanticipated benefits that may also emerge from integration of the various planning processes, demonstrating the potential for a synergistic and dynamic approach to human resource planning.

Part a)

Labour Market

Labour is the human element in the production process. It is the intellectual and physical effort of people in production. The labour market is a factor market where the demand and supply of labour interact to determine the wage rate and the allocation of labour resources in the economy. The demand for labour is derived form the demand for the goods and services that labour is used to produce. The demand for labour is influenced by the level of economic activity, the productivity of labour and relative cost of labour compared to capital. Supply of labour refers to proportion of working age population making itself available for work. In a competitive labour market, the interaction of the demand and supply for labour will determine wage rates and the allocation of labour resources.

The Demand and supply of labour are influenced by both macroeconomic and microeconomic factors. Macroeconomics refers to conditions in the whole economy affecting the general labour market. Microeconomic factors include specific industry and firm conditions that influence the demand and supply of labour for particular occupations and labour skills.

The demand for labour at a microeconomic level are influenced by a number of factors that are industry or firm specific, these include the nature and size of the industry, the pattern of consumer demand and output, the wage rate and conditions of employment offered, the productivity of labour, the rate of capital/labour substitution and the rate of structural change and entrepreneurial expectations. The results of the 1999 National Compensation Survey (NCS) represent the third annual findings of establishment-based surveys in a sample of 154 metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The sample represents the Nation's 326 metropolitan statistical areas (as defined by the Office of ...