Human Resource Essay

INTRODUCTION Human resource management (HRM, or simply HR) is the management of an organization’s workforce, or human resources. It is responsible for the attraction, selection, training, assessment, and rewarding of employees, while also overseeing organizational leadership and culture and ensuring compliance with employment and labor laws. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, HR will also serve as the company’s primary liaison with the employees’ representatives (usually a labor union). The human resources of an organization consist of all people who perform its activities. Human resource management (HRM) is concerned with the personnel policies and managerial practices and systems that influence the workforce. In broader terms, all decisions that affect the workforce of the organization concern the HRM function. The activities involved in HRM function are pervasive throughout the organization. Line managers, typically spend more than 50 percent of their time for human resource activities such hiring, evaluating, disciplining, and scheduling employees. Human resource management specialists in the HRM department help organizations with all activities related to staffing and maintaining an effective workforce. Major HRM responsibilities include work design and job analysis, training and development, recruiting, compensation, team-building, performance management and appraisal, worker health and safety issues, as well as identifying or developing valid methods for selecting staff. HRM department provides the tools, data and processes that are used by line managers in their human resource management component of their job. DEFINITION OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT According to Bohlander et al (2001), human resource management include consolidation of a diverse workforce to achieve a common goal. While Ivencevich (2001) also defines human resource management as a function that is implemented in an organization to help facilitate the effective use of human resources to achieve organizational and individual goals. In addition, there are various perspectives on human resource management focus, namely: †¢ Human resource management is considered the managing of human management employees as direct and interpersonal activities. †¢ Human resource management as personnel management with emphasis on technical skills for evaluation, selection, training and so on. †¢ Human resource management as a strategic management that emphasizes employees as assets in an organization. COMPANY NESTLE [pic] Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s foundation was built in 1867 on humanitarian needs and social responsibility when Henri Nestlà ©, a trained pharmacist, developed a healthy and economical alternative source of infant nutrition to save the life of an infant who could not be breastfed. Today, more than 140 years later, Nestlà © continues with its founder’s legacy to improve lives. HISTORY Generations of Goodness The vast Nestlà © Group started humbly ~ with the vision of one Swiss chemist, Henri Nestlà ©. At a time when there was high infant mortality in Europe due to malnutrition, this dedicated man began experimenting with nutritious food supplements to overcome the problem. In 1867, he was approached to help an ailing premature infant who was unable to accept his mother’s milk or any of the conventional substitutes. The infant began to take the milk food supplement he had developed, and a life was saved. The product, called Farine Lactà ©e Nestlà ©, was soon marketed throughout much of Europe, and a new brand name began to take on life. [pic] The Nestlà © Coat-of-Arms. The Nestlà © Coat-of-Arms Henri Nestlà © adopted his own coat of arms as a trademark in 1867. Translated from German, Nestlà © means little nest and the now-famous symbol is universally understood to represent nurturing and caring, security, nourishment and family bonding. These attributes are still the guiding legacy for the company Henri Nestlà © founded as it fulfils its commitment to ‘Good Food, Good Life.’ The first merger In 1905, the Nestlà © Company merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, the first condensed milk factory which opened in Switzerland in 1866. Nestlà © entered into the milk chocolate business in 1904 when Peter & Kohler Swiss General Chocolate Company produced milk chocolate under the Nestlà © trademark. The chocolate company later joined the Nestlà © Group in 1929. While the original business was based on milk and dietetic foods for children, the new Nestlà © grew and diversified its range of products, through acquisitions and mergers with the better known brands of the time. For example: The manufacturing of LACTOGEN began in 1921, and in the same year, a beverage containing wheat flour was marketed under the brand name MILO. In 1938, NESCAFÉ, the world’s first instant coffee was introduced. Then, in 1947, the MAGGI Company, manufacturer of soups and bouillon invented by Julius Maggi merged with Nestlà ©. Nestlà © continued to expand through the years with some major acquisitions. Today Today, the Nestlà © Company still adheres to its founder’s beliefs and principles and is, therefore, very much people-oriented, and committed to understanding its consumers’ needs throughout the world in order to provide the best products for their lives. Nestlà ©, Bringing ‘Good Food, Good Life’ As the leading Food, Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company, Nestlà © is the provider of the best food for whatever time of day and for whatever time of your life. Nestlà © has grown to become the world’s largest food company offering more than 8,500 brands and 10,000 products. With its headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlà © has more than 456 factories spread over 80 countries, and employs more than 283,000 people. 866 Our history begins back in 1866, when the first European condensed milk factory was opened in Cham, Switzerland, by the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. 1867 In Vevey, Switzerland, our founder Henri Nestlà ©, a German pharmacist, launched his Farine lactà ©e, a combination of cow’s milk, wheat flour and sugar, saving the life of a neighbour’s child. Nutrition has been the cornerstone of our company ever since. â€Å"Henri Nestlà ©, himself an immigrant from Germany, was instrumental in turning his Company towards international expansion from the very start. We owe more than our name, our logo and our first infant-food product to our founder. Henri Nestlà © embodied many of the key attitudes and values that form part and parcel of our corporate culture: pragmatism, flexibility, the willingness to learn, an open mind and respect for other people and cultures.† Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Nestlà © Chairman 1905 The Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, founded by Americans Charles and George Page, merged with Nestlà © after a couple of decades as fierce competitors to form the Nestlà © and Anglo-Swiss Milk Company. Nestlà © in Malaysia [pic] Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s commitment to providing quality products to Malaysians dates back almost 100 years ago. Nestlà © began in Malaysia in 1912 as the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company in Penang and later, growth and expansion made a move to Kuala Lumpur necessary in 1939. Since 1962, with its first factory in Petaling Jaya, Nestlà © Malaysia now manufactures its products in 7 factories and operates from its head office in Mutiara Damansara. The Company was publicly listed on the KLSE now known as Bursa Malaysia Berhad on 13 December, 1989. Today, the Company employs more than 5000 people and manufactures as well as markets more than 300 Halal products in Malaysia. Its brand name such has MILO ®, NESCAFÉ ®, MAGGI ®, NESPRAY ® and KIT KAT ® have become trusted household names and enjoyed for generations. HUMAN RESOURCE MENAGEMENT (NESTLE) HUMAN RESOURCE MENAGEMENT (NESTLE) As companies reorganize to gain competitive edge, human resources plays a key role in helping companies deal with a fast-changing competitive environment and the greater demand for quality employees. Research conducted by The Conference Board has found six key people-related activities that human resources completes to add value to a company: 1. Effectively managing and utilizing people. 2. Trying performance appraisal and compensation to competencies. 3. Developing competencies that enhance individual and organizational performance. 4. Increasing the innovation, creativity and flexibility necessary to enhance competitiveness. 5. Applying new approaches to work process design, succession planning, career development and inter-organizational mobility. 6. Managing the implementation and integration of technology through improved staffing, training and communication with employees. FUNCTION OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (NESTLE) Recruitment Recruitment is the process of attracting, screening, and selecting employees for an organization. The different stages of recruitment are: job analysis, sourcing, screening and selection, and onboarding. The Four Stages Job analysis involves determining the different aspects of a job, such as through job description and job specification. Job description describes the tasks that are required for the job. Job specification describes the requirements that a person needs to do that job. Sourcing means using several strategies to attract or identify candidates. Sourcing can be done by internal or external advertisement. Advertisement can be done by local or national newspapers, specialist recruitment media, professional publications, window advertisements, job centers, or through the Internet. Screening and selection is the process of assessing the employees who apply for the job. The assessment is conducted to understand relevant skills, knowledge, aptitude, qualifications, and educational or job related experience of employees. Some ways of screening are screening resumes and job applications, interviewing, and job related or behavioral testing. After screen and selection, the best candidate is selected. On boarding is the process of helping new employees become productive members of an organization. A well-planned introduction helps new employees become fully operational quickly and is often integrated with the company and environment. Recruitment Approaches There are many recruitment approaches as well. In-house personnel may manage the recruitment process. At larger companies, human resources professionals may be in charge of the task. In the smallest organizations, recruitment may be left to line managers. Outsourcing of recruitment to an external provider may be the solution for some businesses. Employment agencies are also used to recruit talent. They maintain a pool of potential employees and place them based on the requirement of the employer. Executive search firms are used for executive and professional positions. These firms use advertising and networking as a method to find the best fit. Internet job boards and job search engines are commonly used to communicate job postings. Selection Selection is the process of selecting a qualified person who can successfully do a job and deliver valuable contributions to the organization. The term can be applied to many aspects of the process, such as recruitment, selection, hiring, and acculturation. However, it most commonly refers to the selection of workers. A selection system should depend on job analysis. This ensures that the selection criteria are job related. Selection Requirements The requirements for a selection system are knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics, commonly known as KSAOs. Personnel selection systems employ evidence-based practices to determine the most qualified candidates and involve both the newly hired and those individuals who can be promoted from within the organization. Common selection tools include ability tests (cognitive, physical, or psychomotor), knowledge tests, personality tests, structured interviews, the systematic collection of biographical data, and work samples. Development and implementation of such screening methods is sometimes done by human resources departments. Larger organizations hire consultants or firms that specialize in developing personnel selection systems. Metrics Two major factors determining the quality of a newly hired employee are predictor validity and selection ratio. The predictor cutoff is a test score differentiating those passing a selection measure from those who did not. People abov e this score are hired or are further considered while those below it are not. On the other hand, the selection ratio (SR) is the number of job openings (n) divided by the number of job applicants (N). This value will range between 0 and 1, reflecting the selectivity of the organization’s hiring practices. When the SR is equal to 1 or greater, the use of any selection device has little meaning, but this is not often the case as there are usually more applicants than job openings. Finally, the base rate is defined by the percentage of employees thought to be performing their jobs satisfactorily following measurement. After using these tools a person is selected for the job. Orientation Orientation tactics exist to provide new employees enough information to adjust, resulting in satisfaction and effectiveness in their role. Employee orientation, also commonly referred to as onboarding or organizational socialization, is the process by which an employee acquires the necessary skills, knowledge, behaviors, and contacts to effectively transition into a new organization (or role within the organization). Orientation is a reasonably broad process, generally carried out by the human resource department, that may incorporate lectures, videos, meetings, computer-based programs, team-building exercises, and mentoring. The underlying goal of incorporating these varying onboarding tactics is to provide the employee enough information to adjust, ultimately resulting in satisfaction and effectiveness as a new employee. Organization Socialization Model A good way in which to envision this process is through understanding the organization socialization model (see Figure 1). This chart highlights the process of moving the employee through the adjustment stage to the desired outcome: New Employee Characteristics – Though this segment of the model overlaps with other human resource initiatives (such as recruitment and talent management), the characteristics of an employee are central to the strategies best employed as they move through the orientation process. Characteristics that are particularly useful in this process are extroversion, curiosity, experience, pro-activeness, and openness. New Employee Tactics – The goal for the employee is to acquire knowledge and build relationships. These relationships in particular are central to understanding company culture alongside acquiring resources to help expedite the on boarding process. Organizational Tactics- The organization should similarly seek to emphasize relationship building and the communication of knowledge, particularly organizational knowledge that will be useful for the employee when navigating the company. The company should also employee many of the resources mentioned above (videos, lectures, team-building exercises) to complement the process. Adjustment – Through combining the above three inputs, the employee should move through the adjustment phase as they acclimate to the new professional environment. This should focus primarily on knowledge of the company culture and co-workers, along with increased clarity as to how they fit within the organizational framework (i.e. their role). Outcomes – The goal of effectively orienting the employee for success is twofold: minimize turnover while maximizing satisfaction. The cost of bring new employees into the mix is substantial, as a result high turnover rates are a significant threat to most companies. Ensuring that the onboarding process is effective significantly reduces this risk. Additionally, achieving high levels of employee satisfaction is an enormous competitive advantage, as satisfied employees are motivated and efficient. Criticisms The desired outcome from an onboarding process is fairly straightforward, ensuring the new employee(s) is well-equipped to succeed in their new professional environment. However, some critics of orientation processes stipulate that sometimes the extensive onboarding process can confuse the employees relative to their role, as most of their time is spent in company-wide learning as opposed to role-centric learning. While this criticism may be true in some contexts, it can be offset through a more role-specific on boarding process. It is generally acknowledged that orientation strategies generate positive outcomes and returns on investment. Development A core function of HR management is development, which entails training efforts designed to improve personal, group, or organizational effectiveness. Employee development helps organizations succeed. Human resource development consists of training, organization, and career development efforts to improve individual, group, and organizational effectiveness. Training Training is one of the most important ways to develop employees. Training is organizational activity intended to improve the performance of individuals and groups in organizational settings. Training and development has three important steps: training, education, and development. · Training: This activity focuses on an individual’s current job and is evaluated based on that current job. · Education: This activity focuses on jobs an individual might hold in the future and is measured based on those potential jobs. · Development: This activity focuses on potential future activities of the organization and is therefore extremely challenging to evaluate. Training and Development There are several categories of stakeholders that are helpful in understanding training and development. The sponsors of training and development are senior managers. The clients of training and development are business planners. Line managers are responsible for the coaching, resources, and performance. The participants are the people who actually go through the training and development process. The facilitators are Human Resource Management staff. The providers are specialists in the field. Each of these stakeholder groups has their own agenda and motivations, which can cause conflict with the agendas and motivations of other stakeholder groups. Talent development refers to an organization’s ability to align strategic training and career opportunities for employees. Talent development, part of human resource development, is the process of changing an organization, its employees, its stakeholders, and groups of people within it, using planned and unplanned learning, in order to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage for the organization. Performance Evaluation Performance evaluation is the process of assessing an employee’s job performance and productivity, usually for a specified period of time.Performance evaluation or performance appraisal is the process of assessing an employee’s job performance and productivity. The assessment is conducted based on some pre-established criteria that align with the goals of the organization. Some other aspects are also considered to assess the performance of the employee, for example, organizational citizenship behavior, accomplishments, potential for future improvement, strengths and weaknesses, etc. The management of performance plays a vital role to the success or failure of the organization. An ineffective performance evaluation system creates high turnover and reduces employee productivity. This is why performance evaluation is very important for every organization. Methods of Performance Evaluation Objective production: Under this method, direct data is used to evaluate the performance of an employee, such as sales figures, production numbers, the electronic performance monitoring of data entry workers, etc. However, one drawback of this process is that the variability in performance can be due to factors outside the employees’ control. Also, the quantity of production does not necessarily indicate the quality of the products. Still, this data reflects performance to some extent. Personnel: This is the method of recording the withdrawal behavior of employees, such as being absent, being in an accident at work, etc. This personnel data usually is not a comprehensive reflection of an employee’s performance. Judgmental evaluation: This is a collection of methods to evaluate an employee. Some of the methods are described below-  · Graphic Rating Scale: graphic rating scales are the most commonly used performance evaluation system. Typically, the raters use a 5 to 7 point scale to rate employees’ productivity. Employee-Comparison Methods: rather than subordinates being judged against pre-established criteria, they are compared with one another. This method eliminates central tendency and leniency errors but still allows for halo effect errors to occur. · Behavioral Checklists and Scales: behaviors are more definite than traits. Supervisors record behaviors of what they judge to be job performance relevant, and they keep a running tally of good and bad behaviors and evaluate the performance of employees based on their judgement. Peer and Self Assessments:Peer Assessments: members of a group evaluate and appraise the performance of their fellow group members. Self-Assessments: for self-assessments, individuals assess and evaluate their own behavior and job performance. 360-Degree Feedback: 360-degree feedback is multiple evaluations of employees which often include assessments from superior(s), peers, and themselves. Career Path Management Career path management requires HRM to plan and then actively manage employee skills in the pursuit of successful professional careers. Career path management Career path management refers to the structured planning and the active management choice of a employee’s professional career. The results of successful career planning are personal fulfillment, a work and life balance, goal achievement, and financial security. A career refers to the changes or modifications in employment through advancement during the foreseeable future. There are many definitions by management scholars of the stages in the managerial process. The following classification system with minor variations is widely used: †¢ Development of overall goals and objectives. †¢ Development of a strategy. †¢ Development of the specific means (policies, rules, procedures, and activities) to implement the strategy. †¢ Systematic evaluation of the progress toward achievement of the selected goals and objectives to modify the strategy, if necessary. Human Resource Development Human Resource Development (HRD) is the central framework for the way in which a company leverages an effective human resources department to empower employees with the skills for current and future success. The responsibility of the human resources department in regards to employee development primarily pertains to varying forms of training, educational initiatives, performance evaluation, and management development. Through employing these practices, human resource managers can significantly improve the potential of each employee, opening new career path venues by expanding upon an employee’s skill set. This is achieved through two specific human resource objectives: training and development (TD) and organizational development (OD). Training and development, as stated above, is primarily individualistic in nature and focused on ensuring employees develop throughout their careers to capture more opportunity. Organizational development must be balanced during this process, ensuring that the company itself is leveraging these evolving human resources to maximum efficiency. Depending too heavily upon TD may result in an organization incapable of capitilizing on employee skills while focusing too much on OD will generate a company culture adverse to professional development. Therefore human resource departments are central to empowering employee’s down successful career paths. Some Dimensions of Career Management The first step of career management is setting goals. Before doing so the person must be aware of career opportunities and should also know his or her own talents and abilities. The time horizon for the achievement of the selected goals or objectives–short-term, intermediate, or long-term–will have a major influence on their formulation. Short-term goals (one or two years) are usually specific and limited in scope. Short-term goals are easier to formulate. They must be achievable and relate to long-term career goals. Intermediate goals (3 to 20 years) tend to be less specific and more open ended than short-term goals. Both intermediate and long-term goals are more difficult to formulate than short-term goals because there are so many unknowns about the future. Long-term goals (over 20 years) are the most fluid of all. Lack of life experience and knowledge about potential opportunities and pitfalls make the formulation of long-term goals and objectives very difficult. Lo ng-term goals and objectives, however, may be easily modified as additional information is received without a great loss of career efforts because of experience and knowledge transfer from one career to another. Others Focuses of Career Management Making career choices and decisions is the traditional focus of careers interventions. The changed nature of work means that individuals may now have to revisit this process more frequently now and in the future, more than in the past. Managing the organizational career concerns the career management tasks of individuals within the workplace, such as decision-making, life-stage transitions, and dealing with stress. Managing â€Å"boundless† careers refers to skills needed by workers whose employment is beyond the boundaries of a single organization, a work style common among, for example, artists and designers. As employers take less responsibility, employees need to take control of their own development to maintain and enhance their employability. CONCLUSION CONCLUSION Human Resource Management involves the recruitment and management of the people who work in an organization. The focus of Human Resource Management is to attract, select, train, motivate and compensate employees, while making sure that they comply with employment and labor laws. A team of professionals cannot be built by an organization without good Human Resource Management. As a result, businesses with good Human Resource Management (HRM) have higher profits than businesses without or with poor HRM. Effective hiring and training practices, creating employees who are motivated and rewarded for their hard work, and maintaining a good relationship between employees and the company are all results of good Human Resource Management. Even for small businesses, managing the human resource aspect of the business is very important, and can only be done through good Human Resource management REFERENCE REFERENCE †¢ Devanna, M., Fombrun, C. & Tichy, N . 1984. A Framework For Strategic Human †¢ Resource Management In Strategic Human Resource Management, New †¢ York: John Wiley and Sons. †¢ Brewster, C. & Larsen, H. H. 1992. Human Resource Management in Europe: Evidence †¢ From Ten Countries. International Journal of Human Resource Management †¢ 3 (3): 409434. †¢ http://www.google.com.my/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi †¢ http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/humanresources.asp †¢ http://www.nestle.com.my/AboutUs/Nestle_in_Malaysia/Pages/index.aspx