Strategic HR Practices of the Organization
In the present era, the companies have realized the importance of HRM. Human resource plays an important role in the success of an organization. An efficient and skilled human resource department can guarantee a huge success for the organization. Nowadays, developing quality across the entire firm is an important function of the human resource management (HRM) department, thus, it is essential for the business firms to use strategic HR practices. The best HR practices used by the organization are:
Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and Anti Discrimination Legislations
Management by Objectives Performance Management System
Equal Employment Opportunity Act and Anti Discrimination Legislations: EEO policy aims at equal treatment with all the employees and equal distribution of wages and powers between all the employees (Fisher, Schoenfeldt & Shaw, 2004). Anti discrimination legislation helps in attracting and retaining talented employees. Equal pay and other benefits are given for equal work. It is necessary to satisfy the employees if the company wants to gain success and develop its competencies. According to these policies, there is no discrimination on the basis of color, sex, caste, race, marital status etc. (Mabey, Salaman & Storey, 1998). According to the EEO regulations of the firm follows following practices and acts:
Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA): The Equal Pay Act will forbid sex-based wage discrimination. According to this act, men and women must get equal compensation for significantly equal work performed by them.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA): This act will protect the persons who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination b...
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...ating (Mabey, Salaman & Storey, 1998).
Both of these practices can be considered as one of the best strategic HR practices because they develop a feeling of satisfaction and equality among the employees. With the help of this practice the organization manages manpower resources and motivates them to work with zeal and enthusiasm (Fisher, Schoenfeldt & Shaw, 2004). The approach of MBO to manage instills a personal commitment to respond positively to the organization’s major concern as well as to the development of human assets.
Under MBO program, an employee and his supervisor meet together and define, establish and set certain goals or objectives which the employee would attempt to achieve within the prescribed time period (Tyson & York, 2000). These practices also allow the organization to develop it learning behavior and implement change in the organization.
In my experience I have not dealt with The Equal Pay Act nor, was I educated enough to be aware of the detail that this act is consisted of. I was working for a well know profitable bank which I will not name or maybe I should. The situation was, as a top employee, I had more responsibilities than the other employees. The business consisted of both female and male, the ratio was one out of eight were males, therefore the women were dominating in employees and in management. The majority of employees were handling regular customer service calls. I myself dealt with Small Business, Home Equity, Consumer Loans, and the Spanish service calls. I received the same pay as the other employees and was not able to advance into management with the recognition of the extra duties that I was performing.
There are two models of HRM which are the Harvard concept and Strategic Human Resources Management concept (SHRM). Harvard concept is often referred as a soft approach which emphasized that HRM should lead to employee commitment and it was posited by Walton (1985a) that the fulfilment of many employee needs is taken as a goal rather than merely a means to an end. Keenoy (1990) described that Harvard concept as “philosophically grounded in the recognition of multiple stakeholders and belief that the practice and benefits of HRM can be achieved through neo-pluralist mechanisms”. Guest, (1997) pointed out that “soft” HRM fulfils employee needs as an end in itself and favourable attitudes generated from the used of appropriate HRM practices and positive employee attitudes. Storey (1987) also concludes that effective communications, motivation and leadership will result in employee commitment to organization and improved performance. It is therefore essential that HRM programs balances with the good of the employee; sustainability of organizational performance alongside any intervention or program must be
The Equal Pay Act (part of the Fair Labor Standards Act), forbids employers to compensate women differently for jobs that are “substantially equal”, that is, almost identical. Traditionally, women have worked in different occupations than men; these occupations tend to be substantially different, pay less and confer less authority.
Age discrimination has become more than a minor inconvenience throughout the twentieth century; indeed, the issue has become such a hot potato within the workplace that laws have been forced into existence as a means by which to address the problem. In order to help protect those who stand to be singled out and let go because of the unfairness of ageism, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) was designed with the older employee in mind.
Law on equal pay which was announced by Equal Pay act 1970 which is now confined in to
Throughout the years the United States has faced many challenges with equal employment opportunities for everyone. The United States has developed The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, also known as the EEOC, to enforce laws that help prevent everyone from being treated unfairly when it comes to employment options. The EEOC has established stipulations and overlooks all of the federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices and policies (“Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions and Answers”). Some laws that have been passed are the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Although some discrimination is still a problem, all of these laws have helped the United States citizens become treated more equally in the work force.
?The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)?, states the unlawfulness of discriminating against a person because of his or her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment; including, but not limited to, hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training (Age Diversity, 1997). Age diversity at work means employing people of all ages, and not discriminating against someone because of how old he or she is. Age discrimination can take place as a result of the organization or from the different generational differences that make-up the organization.
Another form of discrimination is gender discrimination; many women that hold the same position as their male counterparts are giving less pay for the same occupation. There has been great improvement in regulations to make it an equal playing field for women in the workplace. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed to ensure equal compensation and pay for women and men and prohibit sex-base wages(EEOC). The Act also ensured women if they perform the same job as their male counterparts that employer cannot lower the wages of some employees to make wages equal. Additionally, President Barack Obama passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009 to ensure women across the United States of America would receive equal compensation and pay(EEOC). Before the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009 Act was passed many companies practiced unfair compensation causing a wage gap between men and women in the
HRM practices are effective when they support an organization’s goals and objectives. By contributing to employee and customer satisfaction, innovation, productivity and development, HRM practices are strategically enhancing the profit-ability, quality and other company goals. There are several HRM practices, but the three most common are recruiting and selection, training and development and performance management. All the HR practices are related to each other and align with the organization’s goals and needs (Fontaine, 2011).
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 Equal Pay Act requires that men and women be given equal pay for equal work in the same establishment. The jobs do not have to be exactly alike, but they must be substantially equal. It is job content or not job titles that determines whether jobs are substantially equal. Specifically, the Equal Pay Act provides that employers may not pay unequal wages to men and women who perform jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort and responsibility, and that are performed under similar working conditions within the same establishment. According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s website, “The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women be given equal pay for equal work in the same establishment.” Not long after the Equal Pay Act was passed, the United States government created the U.S. Equal Employment Agency. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to discriminate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The EEOC was made to enforce “...federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an
“One hundred years after the Civil War, President John F. Kennedy called on Americans to fulfill the nation's promise of equal rights and equal opportunities.” This was the first major legislation dealing with civil rights. Prior to this, he Unemployment Relief Act of 1933 stated,” t]hat in employing citizens for the purpose of this Act no discrimination shall be made on account of race, color, or creed. This was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 pertaining to employment practices. (EEOC) The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to discriminate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.” (EEOC.Gov)
Following figure illustrates the MBO Process. Here, there is goal congruence of employees and organisations. When the employees and the management agree and decide the objectives of the organisation, the employees understand what is expected of them and help set their own individual objectives. Hence, they attain their personal as well as the organizational goals.
While the MBO model is a straightforward one with clear steps of implementation, it does require a systematic approach to implementation. For the model to work efficiently, the approach has to be followed rigorously, which can be time-consuming and difficult to maintain. In essence, the model requires careful monitoring and enforcing even after the initial stage, which adds pressure on the organisation in terms of resources. The model is rather rigid, resulting in a situation where the rules and processes must be followed. This requires knowledge, time and resources. The MBO model brings about plenty of paperwork in the form of training manuals, feedback forms, and performance data collection. The rigid system can add extra burden on staff and reduce
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.