Human Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Resources - Essay Example Human resource and internal organizational variables Internal organizational variables include, size, strategy, technology and the business environment within the organisation, these variables have been identified in several studies as determinants of human resource practises (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2011, p124) Human resource management can be defined as the process of attracting, motivating and retaining a gifted pool of employees who work to support the realisation of the organisation’s goal and objectives (Lussier & Hendon, 2013, p 154). Effective human resource practises are becoming a necessity in the current organizational environment as the economies become ‘knowledge based’ and the challenge of finding and retaining highly qualified employees increases due to shortage of skilled labour. Determinants of internal human resource management practises in internal organisational environment The way organisations are run, either formally or informally will al so determine the how human resource activities are conducted. For instance in small businesses, human resource activities are more likely to be carried out in an informal and more flexible manner, while in large organisations, human resource activities will be more formal and rigid (Mathis & Jackson, 2011, p123). The size of the organisation will determine the level of sophistication in human resource with large organizations being more sophisticated than the smaller firms are. In small firms, executives are more likely not to get proper education; in addition, they are also less likely to have performance appraisals and bonuses that are present in large companies. The competitiveness of an organisation depends on the resources that help it to differentiate the company’s products from those of its rivals in the long run. Of great importance is the human resources, which are constrained by shortage of labour, which reduces a company’s potential for growth (Chen & Mohame d, 2008, p73). While some authors argue that long run, competitive advantage can be realised through human resources themselves and not the processes that were used to get the human resource (Guest, 2011, p12). Other authors argue that the human resources themselves can be seen as contributing to a firm’s competitive advantage; such practices include the potential to motivate employees, how organisations handle internal conflicts among other practises. Technology, which is the process for transforming the inputs in the organisations in to finished products usable by the consumers vary in many perspectives, which have an effect on human resource perspectives. For instance, the level of continuity in the manufacturing procedure, the level of knowledge that is required in using the technology, the predictability of tasks and the level of interdependence of various tasks within the course of manufacturing (CHUANG & Liao, 2010, p177). Using human capital theory to show the relatio nship between human resource and technology, firms that use modern and up to date technology are more likely to engage in selective hiring, inclusive training, performance appraisal and fair remuneration evaluation. Understanding the technology usage in organisations has the implication of helping human resource experts to determine the