Popular culture has shown many different portrayals of human resources (HR) over the years, however HR is rarely shown in a positive light. They go from being shown, or treated, as if they are evil and sadistic in some representations, to being depicted as overly friendly pushovers. There are many examples of these alternating stereotypes in the media, whether it be television shows, movies, or even comic strips.
One of the more extremely negative depictions of human resources in the media is the comic strip, Dilbert, written and illustrated by Scott Adams. This comic satirizes company and workplace issues. One of the reoccurring characters in the comic is named Catbert. Catbert is a cat and the “evil director of human resources” (Adams). He is best known for using his “random policy generator” (Adams) to come up with ridiculous regulations.
In one of the comic strips he is featured in, Catbert needs to keep payroll expenses low. In order to do this he forces his assistant to give all the employees bad reviews. Catbert proceeds to give the assistant a list of employee defects. The next picture shows the assistant listing off Dilbert’s defects as he gives him his yearly review. Dilbert becomes increasingly skeptical of the legitimacy of the review when he realizes his defects were “suspiciously alphabetical” (Adams).
This is, unfortunately, one of society’s views of HR workers that popular culture is trying to represent. Catbert is shown as greedy, evil, and sadistic. He is also shown as distant and removed from the situation as he delegates tasks that should be his to someone else. This is but one of the pieces of evidence that support the corrupt and greedy stereotype of HR that has evolved from society’s fear of human resources....
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...ment. Popular culture may make you fear HR departments, but in the end, they are just people. And if they are anything like Karen Powell, there is no need to be afraid.
Works Cited
Adams, Scott. Dilbert. Comic strip. Dilbert by Scott Adams, 7 May 2010. Web
“Casino Night” The Office. NBC. 11 May 2006. Television.
“Conflict Resolution” The Office. NBC. 4 May 2006. Television.
“Dry Guys” Workaholics. Comedy Central. 3 April 2013. Television.
“The Egg Salad Equivalency” The Big Bang Theory. CBS. 3 Jan. 2013. Television.
“Frame Toby” The Office. NBC. 20 November 2008. Television.
Kreissl, Brian. “Improving HR’s Image” Canadian HR Reporter. The National Journal of Human Resource Management. 26 July 2011. Web. 20 Feb 2014.
Office Space. Dir. Mike Judge. Perf. Ron Livingston and Jennifer Aniston. 20th Century Fox, 1999. Film.
Powell, Karen. Personal Interview. Email.
Bohlander, George, and Scott Snell. Managing Human Resources. 15th. Mason, OH: South-Western Pub, 2009. 98-147. Print.
The ability of some to guide the actions and thought processes of other individuals are not something that solely exists within Cat’s Cradle. Instead, there have been numerous times in which the powerful
Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2010). Human resource management (13th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomas/South-western
REI’s HR department description leads one to believe that HR has a larger role than just traditional functions.
The importance of Human Resource management is associated with the beginning of mankind. As the knowledge of survival had begun including safety, health, hunting and gathering, tribal leaders passed on the knowledge to their youth. However more advanced HRM functions were developed as early as 1000 B.C and 2000 B.C. Since the modern management theory took over, the working environment was transformed into a more friendly and safe work place. The workers were termed as most valuable resources. While some companies took the human side of employment seriously, there were others who did not find it mandatory. Hence they faced huge labor unions and factory shut downs (Henning, 2001).
At my organization, the City, managers look to HR to provide effective staff. Managers at the City are often employees who have worked their way up the career ladder and achieved promotions through proven skill, education and ability. They are not schooled in the field of human resources. The managers rely on HR to help satisfy staffing needs for departments and to help determine how best to use existing human assets. HR can determine if existing staff can be used, create a business case for a new position or job description and develop processes for identifying suitable employees. The expectation is that HR be able to identify qua...
Walt would work at Disney often ’till midnight and demanded the same of his employees (JustDisney.org). (what does this say about him, as a person?) In grueling “sweatbox” sessions he could fire an animator for a poorly drawn dwarf’s thumb (JustDisney.org). But Walt also had a nice side, he built a corporate campus with airy rooms, air-conditioning and top furniture, in the manner of today’s coolest ad agencies or software firms. Dress, led by Walt, was casual and he also encouraged pranks among the staff (Forbes.com). I appreciate how Walt was rough at times but also nice and happy at times. There are not many bosses who can do that so I idolize Walt for that. But In 1941 Disney studio animators went on strike because they were promised a reward after they spent long hours and hardly ever left the Disney studio while they were working on the film “Snow White” (SaysDigitalCommons.ric.edu). But what set the workers off was when 17 workers were fired for “pro-union activity (SaysDigitalCommons.ric.edu). Later on fellow outraged employes made stirring speeches in support of their colleagues and the next day three hundred workers went on strike (SaysDigitalCommons.ric.edu). Walt was shattered (Forbes.com). He would never again feel the same passion for cartoons
The Web. 6 Apr. 2012. The. Gueutal, Hal G., and Dianna L. Stone (eds.). "Chapter 9 - The Next Decade of HR—Trends, Technologies, and Recommendations".
Ulrich, D., Younger, J., and Brockbank, W. 2008. “The twenty-first century HR organization.” Human Resource Management, 47, pp.829-850.
In an effort to gain a working understanding of the Human Resources field, I chose to interview the Director of Human Resources for an organization in Miami, Florida. What I learned goes far beyond any classroom or textbook instruction. It is clear; the field of Human Resources will never be static, as society, technology, and legal environments change, so will the field of Human Resources.
1. Late night television has become a major component of American politics. This has occurred for various reasons. One reason is that presenting the candidate or political figure head in a comedic light adds a sense of humanism to the person. Its gives the illusion to the public that that particular figure head is just like us.
As we know, the term ‘human resource management’ underlines a belief that people really make the difference, only people among other resources have the capacity to generate value. However, the human resource management is considered as the ‘Cinderella’ in the organization as its importance has not been discovered by the senior managers, in addition, it has to share responsibilities with line managers, sometimes it takes more work than it is expected. Actions should be taken to help the Cinderella find her glass shoes.
Middle management observes activities within the different departments and then reports their findings to top management. Miranda Priestley is in the middle management position but doesn’t do all her job requirements such as overseeing the other departments. The Human Resources Department needs to establish a positive work environment where employees feel happy, comfortable and working well to be able to achieve the goals of the business. Within the film there are only a few times when the HR department are referenced; for example in the first few moments of the film Emily speaks about the HR department and says, “Human Resources certainly has an odd sense of humour.”
Initially, there are four key issues or potential problems that Doris Washington is likely to face as the new human resources director due to the lax human resource and employment policies that XYZ Company has allowed their management to practice. Fair and equitable recruitment practices should be enforced when recruiting new employees, and managers who create their own interview questions may result in questions that are inappropriate or illegal. Although managers need to be involved in formulating questions that assess the knowledg...