LRN Corp., a firm that helps companies to develop compliance and ethics programs, restructured in the past and they let go 250-employees by abolishing their department names and job titles. They also got rid of their human-resources department that was responsible for dealing with compensation and recruiting issues, among several other things. Many companies are seeking more accountability and flat management structures from their employees, leading many employees to frequently take aim at the human resources department. Executives are saying that the traditional HR department that claims dominion over all activities hiring, firing and maintaining workplace diversity, is responsible of stifling innovation and swamps down the businesses with their inefficient processes and policies. Similarly, with the booming, HR software industry is making it easier to outsource or automate the personnel-related functions like benefits and payroll administration (Weber & Feintzeig, 2014).
Human Resource managers can make use of stakeholder analysis for identifying the key actors and assessing their interests, knowledge, alliances, positions, and importance that is related to their policies. This allows the managers to interact in a more effective manner with the key stakeholders and increase the support for their program and policies. When stakeholder analysis is performed before the program or policy is implemented, managers can detect and then act in preventing the potential misunderstandings for the opposition to program or policy. When the stakeholder analysis and other tools are used for guiding the implementation, the HR policies or program is likely to succeed.
The debate over the issue of shifting HR function and the format is continuing, but it is becoming apparent that executives are shifting their corporate priorities and HR is following the suit. Few companies have decided to outsource their complete HR functions; others have started to shift the responsibilities of the front-line managers in an effort to transform their HR leaders into the business leaders. Plant managers in the past, used to tell HR about the role that needed a new employee, wait for the list of candidates and tell the new hire their start date after choosing the best one out of all applicants. In the future, the plant managers will first decide if the job is necessary. If they find so, they would next decide whether there is any internal successor or they need to search outside. They would also look at the market data about latest salaries, negotiate on pay and bring the new hire on board. This problem has risen with due to introduction of technology and firm’s realizing that a money can be saved with outsourcing HR functions.
Mattel Toy recalled 436,000 of their Chinese-made die-cast toy cars made in the character “Sarge” from the film “Cars”, as they were covered with the use of lead paint. Also, the toy maker recalled 18.2 million of other toys as they are powerful and small magnets could harm any children if they were swallowed. These magnetized toys are made in China, but Mattel design specification is followed. This mounting wave of concerns is forcing Mattel and many other toy companies to start reconsidering their long-held assumptions about the safety of their products. Manufacturing experts are saying that companies have started to cut their costs so much that toy testing is no more affordable for several manufacturers. This is clearly an ethical and legal issue that has developed overtime with the use of harmful products in the toys. It is wrong ethically on the part of the firm to sell harmful products that are not well tested and this has led them to recall their toys. Legally the firm can get sued if any customer ends up facing harmful effects from the toys.
References
Weber, L & Feintzeig, R. (9 April 2014). Companies Say No to Having an HR Department. Retrieved 9 April 2014, from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304819004579489603299910562
