Introduction
Human resources refer to the description of personnel who make up the workforce of a given organization. It is also the name of the utility within a firm that has the overall obligation of implementing strategies and programs relating to the management of individuals. The human resource in an organization is very important in ensuring the smooth running of the firm’s agenda. It is the human resource department that is charged with the implementation of various organization’s tasks and policies. The human resource department function may set strategies, create policies, systems, and standards that effectively implement these strategies in a large scope.
Organizations realize the importance of the part played by the human resource department in their firms. As a result, organizations try there level best to manage this important factor of production. Creation and implementation of a proper human resource management department is key in most organizations. It is a factor that may determine the success or failure of a given business. The most important part of having a resourceful, talented and highly skilled HR comes about in the recruitment of the respective individuals who make up the HR of an organization (Meisinger, Ulrich & Losey, 2005, p 17). Organizations have devised ways of ensuring that they hire the best individuals in the market in their quest to beat rival firms. Further, the proper management of the given HR individuals successfully recruited by the organizations is a strategy firms use to better their performance. The most crucial undertaking by a majority of organization is the development and training of the HR. This is done through ways such as furthering the education of individuals and meeting their cost of studies. Training of employees by senior employees in the firms is also a way of empowering the HR of an organization. The final wanted end result is the creation of a HR that has skills and attributes that are in line with the organizations goals and wants.
Statement of the Problem
The importance of the HR function in an organization is evident from the posting of outcomes and performances by given organizations. Organizations have therefore developed different strategies and programs on the HR function. This is to ensure that they meet objectives set to them by the existing market forces as well as internal goals set by them. However these different strategies vary between organizations making it hard to define the department. Creativity on the effective implementation of this vital task is what determines success of failure of these firms. With these trends and undertakings, the role and status of the HR between various organizations therefore tend to vary either minimally or in large contexts altogether. This is as result of the various policies creation and their subsequent implementation. When certain organizations want to differentiate themselves with the others, they tend to adopt methods that are different in operation with the rest. This may include the structure and role of the HR function as well as the status accorded to this aspect.
Purpose and Scope of the Study
The purpose of this research is to determine the causes of differences in organizations structure of the human resource function. The study aims at providing relevant conclusions to the vital factor of the question in mind. Further, the level of relative difference in the given roles of the human resources between various organizations is relevantly in cooperated in this study. The main reason for the study is to show the various techniques by organizations in altering the roles and status of the HR.
Content Analysis
The research area and jurisdiction is unlimited geographically. The main emphasis on the study is on the organizations that are involved in profit making ventures. The businesses and firms involved in various levels of production and subsequent selling of their commodities for profits are key in this study. The research shall outsource data from various available avenues. These sources include literature on the discipline, case study and online database. The literature source is derived from journals and academic online courses.
Findings
All organizations have at least a number of people working towards the achievement of specific goals set. Regardless of the size of a given organization or the extent and value of its resources, the organization inevitably uses the manpower derived from humans both physically and/or mentally. The necessity of this undertaking is proof from the professionalization of this activity within various organizations. It is evident that the human resource management and proper strategies define not only the performance but the destiny of the organization in question. Firms and businesses are often involved in creation of plans and tasks that are meant to ensure success. With the importance of human resources in the determination of this, human resources managers are involved in extensive formulations on strategies connected with the human resources. Organizations, in their quest to beat rivals in the industry, are often trying new and untested trends in their manner of operations. In relation to this research, human resource planners and managers are constantly trying to weigh options that they have that are sure to provide best results. The nature of business operations and types of products and/or services produced by firms determines largely the strategy employed by the human resource managers in creation of and implementation of policies (Brown & Grundy, 2003, p 158). Hence, organizations involved in production of related goods and/or services tend to have the roles and status of their respective human resources almost similar. Therefore, there tends to be inter-industry difference in the structure, role, and status of the human resources. The difference in level of profit making that determines the categorization of organizations is also an important factor that tends to enhance difference in operations of most aspects (Meisinger, Ulrich & Losey, 2005, p 89). Larger business entities will have different undertakings and activities involved in their operations with the smaller firms. Therefore, it is more likely to find that the structure and role of the human resources between these two different business situations is different. The variations in the status and role of the human resources are also influenced by personal beliefs and principles of the individual human resource manager in a given organization. The reasoning capacity, objectivity, principality, visions, as well as competence are all important components of individual human resource managers that may vary in degree or even lack altogether in some (Fitz, 2001, p 76).
Analysis
Differences in human resources role and status can be brought about by the human factor of human resource managers trying to be different in their mode of operations. When competiveness and success is being sought, the possibility of engaging extra or new ideas and activities is probable. The differences would include the organization of the human resources, the mode of planning; the mode of compensation of one’s work as well as awarding of benefits. Therefore, large differences in the roles and status of the human resource are created.
The type of business in line with the production and/or delivering of services are also an important aspect that creates differences in the inter-organizations in human resources roles and status (Mathis & Jackson, 2009, p 31). For example, the role of human resources in a software producing company would greatly vary with that of food and service producing company such as a restaurant. The difference in the two examples is broadly based on the skills possessed by the respective individuals as well as the level of intricacy involved. Further, the human resources involved in these two cases are bound to be varying. It is evident that the status of the human resources in the software producing company will enjoy higher status than their counterparts in the restaurant. This stand may be arrived at as a result of evaluation of the respective individual’s levels of education and the societal perception of the given fields of study and professionalism. However, the role and status of the human resources between two different software producing companies is likely to be similar. Therefore, there is a substantive difference in human resource roles and status in organizations in different industries.
The difference in roles and status of human resources in various firms can also be attributed to the size and level of production and profitability of companies. A highly profitable business venture is likely to differ in wants, including but not limited to, the roles and status of its human resources (Engle, Festing, Dowling, 2009, p 240). For example, the human resource roles in a company like Microsoft will evidently differ to that of a small sole proprietorship business in the city. The status of the human resource in the former situation is likely to have better conditions compared to the latter business type.
The human resource managers have the responsibility of undertaking steps and creating programs that ensure a resourceful human resource is in place. As a result, they are able to make decisions and conclusions on the implementation of processes based on their own insights. This allowance gives the mandate and obligation of them creating their own programs. The uniqueness of the human resource managers brings about varying results (Stredwick, 2005, p 181). Further, the difference in the recruitment, selection, planning, and even compensation of employees in different firms becomes evident. This factor leads to a wide difference in the modes of operation of various institutions by the human resources especially. Therefore, there tends to be a wide difference in the status as well as the roles of the human resources in different organizations.
Conclusion
It is evident that the roles and status of the human resources differ greatly between organizations. The various factors that lead to these differences are many. However, the differences as seen are always in line with the production wants of a given organization. The informed creation of the programs and policies that govern and/or run the human resource department are always in line with the specific goals of a given organization. Therefore, it is vital that human resource managers should devise the methods that create and define the roles and status of their respective organizations regardless of policies in other organizations.
REFERENCES
Stredwick, J. (2005). Introduction to Human Resource Management, 2nd ed. London:
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Engle, A., Festing, M. & Dowling, P. (2007). International Human Resource Management.
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Fitz, J. (2001). How to Measure Human Resource Management. London: McGraw-Hill.
Brown, L. & Grundy, T. (2003). Value-based Human Resource Strategy. London: Butterworth-
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Meisinger, S., Ulrich, D. & Losey, M. (2005). The Future of Human Resource Management.
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