Equity in Human Resource Management Introduction The effective Human Resource Management in an organization requires an exceptional standard set for motivation, job design, reward system and equity. Nowadays, people are more willing to avoid unfair treatment in the workplace than any other aspect. The fundamental concept behind Equity is an attempt to balance what has been put in and taken out at the workplace with a feeling of justice being served. Unconsciously, values are assigned to many various contributions made to the organization, hence causing an air of misbalance in the environment. There has always been a disparity in the view on the desirability or the cost effectiveness of policy measures. The importance of equity or reducing discrimination has gained a lot of attention in the labour market (Milkovich, Newman & Ratnam, 2009). History 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). The first ever corporate employment department formed for labor concern was created by the B.F. Goodrich Company during 1900. In the 1960s and 1970s the federal government enforced fair treatment of... ... middle of paper ... ...ir conflicts resolutions and motivations. Some measures which can help a human resource management department to impart equity would include but not limited to competitive salary, fringe benefits, career progression, gender, personal development, promotion etc are few variables which HRM require to look after to keep employees motivated. Through such measures, the companies can reduce the probability of employee dissatisfaction, non compliance with the standards and regulations and hence reduced chances of legal actions. It is essential that if organizations need to keep their employees motivated through managing equity, they are required to constantly monitor their employees through various surveys and research tools. Latest techniques emerging from the research may be applied on human resource so that they have direction and motivation for the organization.
MacLaury, J. 1998. “A Brief History: The Department of Labor.” The United States Department of Labor.
Colorado State University-Global Campus. (2013). Module 1 – Evolution of American labor [Blackboard ecourse]. In MGT 516 – Employee and labor relations (p. 1-3). Greenwood Village, CO: Author.
An inadequately motivated employee can be very costly to the organization. Where the quality and quantity of work produced by the employee is just enough not to be fired. Job satisfaction and commitment is lacking and the employee is not motivated to work. This performance can drastically affect the bottom line of the organization whether it be financial gain or otherwise. With the changing nature of work, organizations today tend to be much flatter and slimmer than they were 20 years ago (McGreevy Malcolm, 2003). To manage and adapt to the changes the organization must have committed employees to be able to not only cope but to excel and succeed.
The Equity Theory touches on the effects these situations have on the employee’s motivational level. In society today employees are constantly comparing how they are treated compared to others within the company (Carpenter, Bauer, Erodgogan & Short, 2013). A major challenge being faced is the fact that everyone will see themselves as unappreciated for the things they contribute to the company when in fact they may be receiving the same treatment as their colleagues (Pinder, 1998). A person tends to base fairness on how other people or groups, otherwise known as referents, are rewarded for their “input-to-output” ratio compared to their own. The ratio has to deal with the way a person feels they are giving back to society compared to the “outputs” or rewards they feel they are entitled to for their contribution. Another theory in the work place is the expectancy theory. This theory says that employees will consider if the hard work will pay off, second is if their efforts will lead to greater rewards, and third is if the award valuable to the individual. Managers can use these facts to their advantage to motivate employees by awarding their hard work (Carpente...
Human Resource Management is defined as the management of activities undertaken to attract, develop, motivate, and maintain a high performing work force in an organization. There are a lot of myths about the HR department, for example people just view HR as a “hiring department” and believe it has no major role in growth of an organization. Traditionally, HR function has been viewed as primarily administrative which was focused on the level of the individual employee, the individual job, and the individual practice (Becker, Huselid, and Ulrich 2001), with the assumption that improvements in individual employee performance would undoubtedly enhance performance of the organization. But in the 1990s, an emphasis on strategy and the importance of HR systems emerged with HR emerging today as a strategic paradigm in which individual HR functions, such as recruitment, selection, training, compensation, and performance appraisal, are aligned with each other and also with the overall strategy of the organization (Khatri et al, 2006).For making a successful transformation the HR department has to shed its traditional administrative, compliance, and service role and adopt a new strategic role concerned with developing the organization and the capabilities of its managers (Beer, 1997). Competition, globalization, and continuously changing market and technology are the principal reasons for the transformation of human resource management today (Beer, 1997). According to Beer (1997) following areas are needed to be improved in higher levels for a strategic approach towards Human Resource Management.
“Equity considerations play a major role not only in the evolution of distributive systems but all in the emergence of supporting ideologies and the processes through which distributive systems are challenged and replaced” (Cook,K.S., & Parcel, T.L. 1997, p.2). Therefore, when the employees are rewarded for their work they will most likely work harder to restore the balance of equity. Whereas if an employee is under rewarded the employee will most likely do the opposite and not work as hard. The ongoing issue at Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant was that the employees were being under- rewarded and not appreciated by upper management, which lead to low productivity that severely impacted the companies
Pay equity programs attempt to address the undervaluation for work traditionally or historically done by women. Pay equity (also referred to as “comparable worth”) programs require a gender-neutral analysis of comparative work. A variety of very different jobs are compared based on a composite of the skill, effort and responsibility of a job and the conditions under which the job is generally done. The comparison determines the relative worth of those jobs to the achievement of a firm’s objectives, under the proposition that equal contribution merits equal compensation. Where female-dominated jobs in the workplace are found to be of equal or comparable value to male-dominated jobs but paid below the level of the male jobs or payline, then all employees in those female-dominated jobs are entitled to receive pay equity adjustments.
Changing Roles. Traditionally, HR has been an administrative position-processing paperwork, benefits, hiring and firing, and compensation. However, recently HRM has moved from a traditional to a strategic role, the emphasis is on catering to the needs of consumers and workers. Before, HR was seen as the enemy and employees believed that HR’s main purpose was to protect management. Now, the position requires HRM to be more people oriented and protect their human capitol, the staff. In addition, human resource management has to be business savvy and think of themselves as strategic partners in the 21st century.
Human resource management (HRM) encompasses the activities of acquiring, maintaining, and developing the organization's employees (human resources). "The traditional view of these activities focuses on planning for staffing needs, recruiting and selecting of employees, orienting and training staff, appraising their performance, providing compensations and benefits, and making their career movement and development." HRM involves two aspects:...
Organizations’ other resources can be hired, retained and discarded at any time but human resources needs special treatment. It needs to be carefully hired, deserve an extra effort to retain it and requires training & development to upgrade and improve its capabilities. Other resources depreciate with the passage of time but when the human resource gains more and more experience, it becomes more beneficial for the organizations. These characteristics have brought human resources to be the central element for the success of an organization. (Mohammed, Bhatti, Jariko, and Zehri, 2013, pg. 129, para. 2)
Employees desire compensation systems that they perceive as being fair and commensurate with their skills and expecta¬tions. Pay, therefore, is a major consideration in HRM because it provides employees with a tangible reward for their services. A significant interaction occurs between compensation management and the other functions of the HR program. For instance, in the recruitment of new em¬ployees, the rate of pay for jobs can increase or limit the supply of applicants. Compensation objectives should facilitate the effective utilization and manage¬ment of an organization’s human resources, while also contributing to the overall objectives of the organization (www.indiana.edu/~busx420/Book.../chap09.doc). Providing a first-rate benefits package for employees can be an important part of the recruitment and retention puzzle (studymode.com).
An organizational human resources department utilizes the hiring and firing process to meet the organization’s personnel needs. Organizational human resource departments are charged with the oversight of an organizations administration department. The practice of hiring and firing people is a process employer’s conducts on a daily basis. This process has to be done in a proper manner and not in haste. The implication that can occur from the improper hiring and firing process could and can have a positive or negative impact on an organization. Therefore, employers must carefully evaluate their decision to hire/fire individuals and its impact on the organizations’ workplace environment and others employees. Human Resource Management is important for an effective organization. In today’s organization, HRM is valuable to the organization because of increase legal complexities and its known for improvement in productivity. However, management should realize that poor human resource management could result in an outburst of hiring process followed by firing or layoffs. According to (Satterlee 2013, p. 194), “Hiring the best candidate who is also a good fit for the organization is crucial for the success of an organization, because a poor hiring decision will have repercussions across the entire organization”. Satterlee made a valid point because poor hiring could have an impact on the bottom line performance of the firm. In other words, HRM is the contributing factor to the success of the organization including motivating and maintain the staffs. The purpose to the motivation is to ensure that all employees grow to a full potential. According to (Sims 2006, p. 5), “HRM efforts are planned, systematic approaches to increasing organizati...
The equity theory is the theory that I connected with and it made the most sense to me. I feel that it is very important for any manager to treat everyone fairly. If an employee perceives that they are being treated fairly, they will be motivated, will feel good about their work and be productive. Of course, if the employee does not feel that they are being treated fairly the reverse will occur; the poor productivity will eventually be noticed within the organization.
Human resource is the most valuable and unique asset of an organization. The successful management of an organization’s human resource is an exciting, dynamic and challenging task , especially at a time when the world has become a global village and economies are in a state of flux. The lack of talented resource and the growing expectation of the modern day employee has further increased the difficulty of the human resource function.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is fundamentally another name for personnel management. It is the process of making sure the employees are as creative as they can be. HRM is a way of grouping the range of activities associated with managing people that are variously categorised under employee relations, industrial/labour relations, personnel management and organisational behaviour. Many academic departments where research and teaching in all these areas take place have adopted the title department of human resources management. HRM is a coordinated approach to managing people that seeks to integrate the various personnel activates so that they are compatible with each other. Therefore the key areas of employee resourcing, employee development, employee reward and employee involvement are considered to be interrelated. Policy-making and procedures in one of these areas will have an impact on other areas, therefore human resources management is an approach that takes a holistic view and considers how various areas can be integrated.