Question

1) Identify and briefly describe three major external challenges (choosing one each from economic, technological, and demographic categories) facing human resource managers in Canada and their implications.

Answer 1

Human resource managers should check on the changes in the economic, technological, and demographic factors as the economic factors include the supply and demand factors in the labor market. Labor market defines the working of supply and demand factors in the market. The manager has to keep track of the labor supply and choose the candidates according to the company's demand. Further, any change in the economic pattern like the unemployment rate can affect the company's working and labor demand. The next factor is technological change. Technology and innovation have started to evolve in the last few years. Due to an increase in the innovative processes, the demand for labor will decrease in the companies. The managers will also tend to move towards effective and innovative manufacturing processes. It will also decrease the demand for labor, and the rate of unemployment will rise in the country. Technological developments will consequently decrease the need for human resources and the human workforce. The last factor is the demographic factor. The change in the demographic factor will also affect the decision of the HR manager. The HR manager has to take action according to the employment and unemployment rate in a particular area. The rate will also affect labor demand because if there is a high unemployment rate, the HR managers will tend not to appoint. After all, the company already has the required number of employees. Hence, a change in all the factors lays an impact on the decision of the HR manager.