Human Resources

            In any field, it is quite challenging to see where the organization will be in the years to come. The demands of the place of work are increasing each and every new day changing the way people are expected to work and how their performance is assessed. Technological advancement and the fluid and the change in time and space of the nature of the globalized labor force and the labor setting are all aspects that are quickly changing the human resource. Human resource management, therefore, is an essential asset that assists with these kinds of changes. There are changes that each and every person has to experience once they join a certain organization. Human resource can, therefore, be a strategic element that enhances individual’s expertise as applied to the company’s success. Human resource is thus responsible for managing the way employees are treated within the organization. It thus ensures that the laborers join the organization and that they perform their work as required by the organization as they reimburse them for their work and settling of problems that arise. In general, human resource management is a way in which the management of the employees is connected with that of the organization strategy and ensures that the needs, as well as the wants of the employees, are met. It has gone through tremendous changes in its goals, responsibilities and it is currently being viewed as not just administrative and equipped supervision but rather a strategic provider. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to deeply discuss the background of the human resource and to analyze the significance of human resource management transformation from primarily administrative and outfitted into being more strategic.

 

 

Background study

            Personal administration emerged in the late 1920’s n the United States an evidently defined sector. It was largely concerned with the employment, training, and reimbursing workers and was much functional to the staff in most of the companies.  This system failed to consider the employees’ relationship on the entire organizational performance hence it lacked a unifying standard. In history, human resource management has changed its name over time due to the shift in the social as well as the economic activities all the way through history. The first type of human resource management was industrial welfare (Moriguchi 2014). It is during this era that a policy was set that factories should employ male supervisors while the number of working hours was reduced sixty hours per week for children as well as the women. Establishment of trade unions started in this era. The second type of human resource management was recruitment and selection where girls were asked to be involved in the First World War. During this period, there were government initiatives that were implemented which enhanced the personal development of people and thus they became more useful (Torraco 2009). After the First World War, more focus was directed to the recruitment and the selection of employees but later training was incorporated into the system. This improved the people’s self-confidence, discipline, enthusiasm, health as well as safety, income policies and collaboration. This called in for the establishment of a personal department that would be operated by trained staff in the organizations. Later, industrial relations emerged where the management and the employees were able to consult one another. Thus the personal department played a role in organization and administration. Then the employees went through the stage of legislation where the human resources were responsible for ensuring that the managers in the company did not violate the law. Finally, a major trend in the way the employees seek increments in flexibility planning in the working hours emerged.  This was as a result of the increasing number of part-time and contract employees and the introduction of distance labor force. This has created new employments in e-commerce as they increase the ability of workers to work in the comfort of their homes as they work from home. Strategic human resource management has emerged so as to solve the issues that the human resource management poses. Hence the role of the human resource will continue changing and changing (Moriguchi 2014).

Strategic management

            Personnel HRM involve the handling of individual worker instead of a group of employees. This kind of human resource management is generally viewed as traditional, habitual, maintenance based, administrative role which fails to involve the higher level administrators of the company. It thus majors its operation on the performance of tasks such as the payment of the sheets and compliance of the law. This, therefore, tries to satisfy the individual employee through the use of their salaries, bonuses, reimbursements and aims at achieving the company’s success. However, the strategic human resource management is determined by aligning all the personnel functions of a company with the business strategy that the company is presently based on (Need 2006). It is therefore perceived as an exceptional approach to managing employees who seek to attain a competitive benefit through the strategic improvement of a highly dedicated and competent workforce. It is thus all about the management of the human investment of a company with an aim of achieving the competitive edge. This is to mean that it does not only focus on attaining a devoted labor force but also aims at attaining trained employees for the job hence enabling the organization to attain a remarkable performance. Dissimilar with the personnel human resource which starts from the employees, the strategic human resource management starts with the company’s requirements and needs about having an appropriate labor force. It involves the higher administrators in the organization and also integrates the company’s strategy for inventing, implementing and assessing the organization strategies through the HR activities which may include recruiting, deciding on, and remunerating and training organization’s personnel. Strategic human resource, therefore, focuses on the significance that the human resource strategies could make so as to enable company’s effectiveness and the way in which these strategic supplies are attained.

            In the contemporary business world, the means of successful business is to incorporate all the functions of an organization so as to ensure that all departments and operations of the organization flow towards the same direction. To achieve that proficiency, the traditional human resource managing structure had to be transformed into a more incorporated, top management involvement, a strategy-oriented operation that is usually referred to as the strategic HR.

            The human resource management in Toyota Company has evolved over time since the company’s inception and it is the core proficiency of the company. It is a major reason as to why the company’s operations are competent, cars are delivered in the market in time and they are on a budget and why the chief engineers deeply understand the customers and the vigorous working by the employers. Therefore the company invests so much on training and educating their employees (Liker et al 2009). The company advocates for the improvement of the workforce through the action of making things. Thus the company encourages the development of the HR through the handing down of the values as well as perspectives. In connection with this, the company embarks on global actions of the human resource development as it has become a priority issue due to the geographical expansion of the company and the progressive growth of the company. Toyota Company is thus building on both the new education facility and the lessons content structures that relate to team member improvement that enables a safe and sound and balanced flow of qualified human resource so as to conduct Toyota global issues in the 21st century (Liker et al 2009). The company is thus determined in developing human resources through the implementation of an educational program based on the on the job training which is essential for the improvement and generational transfer of outstanding manufacturing with the company’s fundamental basis. This enhances the creation of a working environment for the various employees to labor proudly and with devotion and assurance in fulfilling their potential which will enhance the company to realize self-growth.

            Through the transition of the company from the traditional human resource management to the strategic management, it has realized a competitive advantage against its competitors. As the company implements on a value creating strategy it has been able to manage its human resources through the strategic HRM thus attaining a sustainable competitive benefit. The company is able to exploit opportunities as well as counterbalance threats in the company’s threat. These strategic HRM are difficult to implement and thus they are rare to find in the competitive environment and are difficult to duplicate and are hard to be put out of place by strategically important substitutes.  However, the few companies that have adopted and implemented the strategic HRM have realized greater competitive advantage and ultimately greater profits. This, therefore, has enhanced the Toyota Company in climbing the ladder in their line of business (Need 2006).

            There has also been a change in the mindset of companies that have implemented the strategic HRM as they transform into making traditional management into strategic partnering. Personnel HR management is interested in the administrative role and the inability to straightforwardly measure its influence on the end results was the major weakness of the personnel management that reduced its potentiality to the business strategy. Thus the strategic management of the employees required a totally new attitude which centers mainly on the revolution using the change management rather than the focus on the administrative and operational actions.

            Moreover, the invention of the strategic HRM in businesses and organizations has resulted in a demographic influence of the company. For instance, for those companies whose objective I to diversify their operations through the opening up of many branches in different geographical location or in varying cultural setting then the company must be able to transform from having the personnel HR management into a strategic HR management. The use of the traditional HR management will pay no attention to the fact that the workers should culturally counterpart the job; hence the company should be operational with suitable language expertise, match the required gender and religion aspects so as to fit in the region that the employer has to work in. this will not only ensure that the company achieves the human resource strategy such as the employment of totally cheap employees but it will as well ensure that they are qualified (Liker et al 2009).. The employment of qualified employees in a company ensures that the company realizes a positive impact on the business as they will be able to effectively serve their clients. Thus it is vital for companies to transform into strategic HR management mechanism implementation so as to be able to arrange the HR approaches with the business stratagem with an aim of consecutively matching the business that they are doing (Daley 2006). Toyota Company is one of the companies that enjoy this positive demographic influence as it employs people of different cultures as well as backgrounds. The human resources policies in the Toyota Company do not permit the employer to choose any potential candidate who fails in matching with the organization’s culture and identification of the business value. Therefore before selecting a candidate they have to undergo through various levels of checklists. They first have to go through the screening process, the background examination, ability test, qualification test, interrogations and finally they have to reach the selection decision.

            For the Toyota company to progress on well and to prosper in their operations, they are seeking to globalize their business in the global market. This has thus affected the human resource management in the company as they strive to transform from the traditional way of human resource management into the strategic HR management (Need 2006). This has enhanced the company to incorporate the business activities across the geographical and company’s extent.

            Following the current change in technology and the advancement of the same, the Toyota Company among other few companies has changed their human resource management into being more strategic. Hence, through the incorporation of the strategic HR management and the advanced technology, the company has been able to smooth the progress of employees thus improving their working conditions and striking a balance between work and life, inventiveness as well as efficiency.

            Through the adoption and implementation of the strategic HR management, organizations have been able to carry out an early succession planning. Thus the company top executives are able to spot capable successors of the company earlier in advance hence they are able to groom them all through the years of knowledge, development as well as mentorship so as to make them prepared and ready to take up the leadership of the organization when the owner or the top executive passes away or even decides to give up work (Liker et al 2009)..  This strategic planning on the succession process can make an organization to head in the right direction after the core leadership transition or change.

            Through the strategic HR management, the Toyota Company has been able to identify appropriate ways in which they implement in promoting and recompensing their top performers in the company. These top performer employees may include those who greatly contributes to the company’s objectives and long term organization success. This ensures that the highest reimbursement is being paid to the worker with the largest contributions to the organization, instead of those who have not contributed anything to the company (Daley 2006). This has helped to increase the employee’s performance index hence producing products that are of higher quality and providing quality services that meet the customers’ needs. This ultimately results in a higher level of profit to the organization as there is an internal competition for the employees thus improving employees’ proficiency.

            The transformation of a company’s human resource management into a strategic HR management enables an organization to proactively set the policies in position so as to keep their organization on the right track of the employment policies together with workplace discrimination problems and equivalent employment policies. Strategic HR management ensures that the organization makes effective decision making that is based on a safe and sound planning. Thus, the company has developed both the long assortment that is strategic and the short range planned organization. This ensures that the resources are organized and distributed so as to undertake organizational objectives in an efficient and successful manner (Daley 2006). As a result of this strategic management of the human resource, the overall strategic plans are organized in line with the company’s structure. This strategy has thus provided the future needs and existence of the human investment for the company. A strategic decision of a company that has transformed into strategic HR management usually requires a long term loyalties. A strategic measure can result in labor force expertise which can influence customer’s service and prosperity. A good strategic measure helps in support of the corporate objectives and organization’s resources.

            This strategy ensures that the company effectively makes communication from the subordinate to the top management as it ensures that the executive has active and efficient support. The company appreciates every employee within the company and thus it fights against any discrimination of any kind this helps in team building in the company whereby the members have an approving expertise that is more successful since members can monitor each other and help one another (Torraco 2009). Team members are all active and so keen in their work. Since people are aligned to make mistakes thus they are able to identify early mistakes and correct those inaccuracies.

Conclusion

            Human resource management is increasingly becoming significant in the business environment today. This is because of the present knowledge that the economy requires for the employees who contribute towards provisioning of ideas and are actively engaged in the execution of the organization’s strategy. HR is thus transforming into being a strategic partnering through the identification of expertise that the employees need and then offering them with the training and the structures that would be essential in helping them to develop and deliver this kind of competencies. All of these aspects such as the employees selection, succession process, employment design and reimbursement practice needs to be organized with the company’s approach so as to ensure that the right kind of employees are hired in the company for the right employment and that they are rewarded as well as compensated accordingly and appropriately for their continued contribution towards the company’s objectives and future development. Therefore, all companies should embrace and implement strategic human resource management as it has proven to the most appropriate mechanism that will help the company to attain their future company’s goals. Globalization and technological advancement is the core driving force for the transformation of the human resource management from traditional to strategic HRM.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

            Daley, D. M. (2006). Strategic human resource management. Public Personnel Management. Current concerns, future challenges, 5, 120-134.

            Liker, J. K., & Hoseus, M. (2009). Human resource development in Toyota culture. International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 10(1), 34-50.

            Moriguchi, C. (2014). Japanese-style Human Resource Management and its historical origins. Japan Labor Review, 11(3), 58-77.

Need, W. C. D. H. P. (2006). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage.

            Torraco, R. J. (2009). A History of human resource development. Human Resources and Their Development-Volume I, 76.