Theoretical Issues Related to Human Resources

This essay will discuss the theoretical issues related to human

resource management strategies, human resource planning, employment

relations, diversity management and recruitment and selection. The

essay will compare the differences in human resource management

between two airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

Finally the essay will put forward recommendations to the two airlines

in the human resource area.

The human resource needs of today’s organisation need to be

continually analysed due to constant changing conditions. This

analysing is known as human resource planning (HRP) and it ensures

that the right number and type of people are available at the right

time for the organisation (Dessler et al 1999). There are many

factors that contribute to HRP and trends that influence the

organisation’s external environment. These factors are workforce

diversity, outsourcing, globalisation, technological development, new

organisational structures, casualisation and the shift from

manufacturing towards service and knowledge-based work (Dessler et al

1999).

Workforce Diversity

Workforce diversity is divergence from an assumed norm or set of

expectations. The government have created legislations confirming the

right of all members of society to experience comparable life and work

opportunities, irrespective of difference of sex, age, sexual

orientation, religion, physical abilities or whether they belong to

the dominant culture or language group (Human Resource Management

Study Book). The reasons that these legislations were introduced were

due to the changing of the workforce. More women joined the workforce

as did people of differing ethnic origins. The workforce has become

older because of the legal ruling of voluntary retirement age (Human

Resource Management Study Book). Due to these changes and

legislations employers have had to re-think their employment policies

and procedures in areas such as selection, training and promotion

(Human Resource Management Study Book).

Some forward thinking organisations have looked beyond the

government’s requirements and have used the changes to benefit

themselves in the long term. These organisations have taken this

opportunity to better understand and serve the wider community, to

gain a competitive advantage over more traditional organisations.

They have also tried to gain more knowledge of the needs and

preferences of specific groups in society and discovered the things

that might help to make the workplace more productive and satisfying

for all their employees (Human Resource Management Study Book).

Outsourcing.

Outsourcing is where organisations use external providers for those

activities that are either non-essential or demand an injection of

management resources and capital. This allows the organisation to

focus more on the core of the business operations (Dessler et al

1999). Outsourcing is extremely important where HRP is concerned. It

can be used as a strategy when skilling of resources will be expensive

and time consuming and it can also make forecasting easier if the