Question

1. Explain what HR (Human Resource) Management is and how it relates to the overall management process as it relates to the organization.

2. Explain the HR (Human Resource) Management responsibilities of line and staff managers.

3. Discuss crucial global and competitive trends as it relates to HR (Human Resource).

4. Discuss how managers use technological advances to improve HR (Human Resource) performance.

Justify your answers, ideas and reasoning by using appropriate examples and references. A typical answer should be more than 200 words but no more than 500 words.

Answer 1

Answer 1:Human resource management is the strategic management of human capital.It encompasses staffing, employee benefits,compensation,workplace organization,training, role mapping etc.Human resources can make and break an organization and hence it is essential that human capital is seen as an asset to an organization and hence maintenace of that asset is also important for smooth functioning of the organization. Human resource management is the mechanism/framework to ensure that the human capital is properly nurtured and looked after so that desired effectivity adn efficiency can be achieved whcih will help in driving the business objectives.HRM ensures and orchestrates the working of all the departments within the organization.Based on the organizational cuture HRM either works in close proximity with all the business leaders/stakeholder or are embedded within the departments to help with job analysis,recruitment/staffing, onboarding, training, mentoring, career advancements, benefits and compensations,appraisals etc leveraging the behavioral expertise.HRM is an integral part of the organization and acts as facilitator in driving organizational growth .

Answer 2: The roles and responsibilities of line manager are directly aligned with the organizational goals and objectives. Line managers work directly with the employers and are responsible for assigning,reviewing the day to day work of the employees.They have the authority and discretion to take decisions related to an employee's work performance , roles and responsibilities , appraisal etc. Responsibilities include employee job role fitment, training and orientation, work assignment, assessment and review, cost control,employee motivation etc.

Staff managers roles are aligned to the attaiment of the line manager's goals and objectives and consequently the organiation's goals and objectives.Typically staff managers assist ,advice ,support and take away some of the administrative roles ad responsibilities of the line manager.They do not have the authority to direct or take any decisions related to the assignment,review of the work of the employees. Responsibilites include hiring, training, evaluation,counselling,separation,promotion etc.

In smaller organizations the division between line and staff manager is blurred . However for bigger organizations it becomes increasingly difficult for line managers to manage all the employee related aspects by themselves and hence they create staff function roles to support and assist them in hteir day to day activities in managing the employees.

Answer 3:The global and competitive trends are:

1. Use of Analytics to identify KPIs and measure employee effectivity across multiple parameters/critical success factors

2. Flexible work environment including work from home,paid leaves,option to work on pet projects for a certain percentage of their work time,work time flexibility. Creative environment at workplace to improve efficiency and make the employees feel at home

3. More flexible employee benefits and compensation structure where employees can choose the salary, incentive,bonus ,benefit,equity stock option mix as per their risk appetite and other factors

4. Replaced typical appriasal process /review with 360degree feedback and adopted more scientific approach

5.Shift from employee engagement to experience .Opportunity to opt for an experience of one's own choice and also get trained and become an expert in one's area of interest to make workplace more enjoyable

6. Emergence of gig work culture defined by short term contracts, freelancing,on demand hiring.

Answer 4: Technological advancements adopted by managers to improve HR performance include:

1. Use of employee wellbeing tools

2. HR analytics to measure ,assess impact of various factors on empoyee performance ,productivity

3.use of artificial intelligence and machine learning enabled solutions for searching and hiring the right candidate with better fit

4. Digitzation and securing sensitive employee records to prevent unauthorised access

5. Digital assistants to resolve employee queries

6. RPA (Robotic Process Automation) enabled leave and claim approvals,status tracking,managing internal job postings etc

7. Virtual collaboration tools and technologies