Human Resources: The Specialist and Generalist

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Human Resources: The Specialist and Generalist Within the human resource department there are both generalists and specialists. There has been some debate on which is best, and there is common infighting between the two classes. Within this paper we will argue the importance of using both classes of human resource employees and the generalist bias that causes skewed hiring of generalists over specialists. Generalist A Human resources generalist is an employee that works with most if not all areas. Generalists are define as an employee possessing a macro orientation, more loyalty to their employing organization than a professional group, and has aspiration to climb the corporate hierarchy as it exists (Cesare & Thornton, 1993). The human resource generalist is best used as an employee to cover a broad area of subject areas. These HR generalists give direction to the management and employees (Christensen, 2005). Specialist A human resource specialist are trained in a singular discipline, concerned with increasing their skill and ability, and highly value the respect of their specialist peers (Cesare & Thornton, 1993). The human resource specialist is meant to cover the technical aspects of a single to a few areas of the human resource department. These HR specialists give direction to management, and to the generalists (Christensen, 2005). Conflict Between Classes The two classes have been separated by competing for management approval. Christensen says that "I have never been in an organization where this [generalist vs specialist] was not a serious and emotionally charged issue" (2005). The real problem lays in the fact that the generalist is often times left feeling responsible for any question that they are asked and inst... ... middle of paper ... ...ton, C. (1993). Human resource management and the specialist/generalist issue.Journal of Managerial Psychology, 8(3), Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/science/article/pii/S0749597812001185 Wang, L., & Murnighan, J. (2013). The generalist bias. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 120(1), 47-61. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/science/article/pii/S0749597812001185 Dunning, D., Hayes, A. (1996) Evidence for egocentric comparison in social judgment Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, pp. 213–229 Gilbert, D., Giesler, R., Morris, K. (1995) When comparisons arise Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, pp. 227–236 Mussweiler, T., Rüter K., What friends are for! The use of routine standards in social comparison Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85 (2003), pp. 467–481

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