The Effect of the External Environment on Work in Australia

1980 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of Globalization on Human Resource Management

The Effect of the External Environment on Work in Australia

This essay considers how changes in the external environment of organisations have altered the world of work. Australia is currently experiencing a period of economic growth. But some new challenges have appeared. Australian organisations are facing skill shortages and an aging workforce. This shortage has been addressed by introduction of new technology in workplaces and influx of immigration workers. Organisations in Australia, similar to those in other developed economies, are also struggling with changing workforce demographics, changing nature of work, incorporating and utilizing the rapid advances in technology, and addressing globalisation-related challenges such as increased competitive pressures, outsourcing and off-shoring, and a global workforce that places higher importance on cross-cultural issues and skills.

Human Resource Management involves the productive use of people in an organisation to collectively achieve the organisation's strategic business objectives. Human resource management also involves employer employee relationship and the satisfaction of the individual employer needs (Stone 2006, p. 4). It is an essential function of an organisation. It has become more prominent in recent years as organisations have to improve their productivity and international competitiveness. In modern times, no organisation can afford to rest on their laurels; to be competitive in the global marketplace, organisations need to rethink their strategies towards human resources.

A human resource manager must consider the nature of external and internal environmental influences before electing a particular course of action. Internal environmental influences invol...

... middle of paper ...

...anisations: Identifying Trends and Changes', Australian Journal of Management & Organisational Behaviour, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 19-29.

Murray, P. & Syed, J 2005, 'Critical Issues in Managing Age Diversity in Australia', Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 210–224.

Ojlsson, I 2005, ‘Smarter Faster Better', HR Monthly, July, pp. 24-29

Patrickson, M & Ranzijn, R 2005, ‘Workforce Ageing: The Challenges for 21 Century Management', International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 729-739

Pocock, B 2005, 'Work-life ‘Balance' in Australia: Limited Progress, Dim Prospects'', Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 198–209.

Rance, C 2005, ‘Lost in Translation', HR Monthly, March, pp. 22-28.

Stone, R J 2006, Managing Human Resources, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Queensland.

Show More
Related

  • Casual Employment in Australia

    1604 Words  | 4 Pages

    Harbridge, R. and Walsh, P. (2002), Globalisation and labour market deregulation in Australia and New Zealand: Different approaches, similar outcomes, Employee Relations, 24(4): 423-436.

    Read More

  • Age Discrimination

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stossel and Mastropolo’s thesis did not come until at the middle of the article when they talked about how Murray Schwartz is convinced “that older people can do the job just as well as younger people and believes that employment age discrimination laws are a crucial protection for older workers” (paragraph 11). With this issue, there are two sides of argument in this article: one is from the corporate as to why it is a necessity to fire people when they come of age, and the second one is from the workers being affected at this age discrimination. There are several people applying for jobs these days and a company attempts to fill that job with the best qualified person. If a per...

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues In Employment Law Essay

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    Based on the examples provided; there are ongoing issues with bias in relation to age in the workplace. Additionally, there are ways in which companies can offer incentives for older employees to leave the company early. For example, “evenly applied layoffs or companies can offer an early retirement incentive for employees to retire, if accepted the employee normally has to sign a ADEA waiver as to not bring suit against the company later” (Lau, T., Johnson, L., 2014 p. 268). Today, most careers within the United States are employment-at-will, meaning either party can terminate employment with or without cause, with some exceptions. This allows for great flexibility for employees and employers to meet the needs of the business and our personal lives. As with many benefits we have, we also must be responsible stuarts of society and ensure checks and balances are in place for a fair and reputable working environment. Reducing the occurrence of age discrimination is one way we can improve work environments and retain expertise in the workplace to train the less experienced team

    Read More

  • Diversity

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Diversity can be differences in age, gender, ethnicity, and religion. Having such a diverse workforce can be very challenging. (1) Today’s workforce is very diverse in respect to age. Before, corporate America consisted of workers ranging from twenty one up to late thirties to early forties. Now, we see people in their mid to late fifties going back to work. This trend has both advantages and disadvantages. One advantage of an older employee over a younger employee is his ability to use his years of experience in situations where a younger employee lacks experience. Another advantage for an older employee is his built relationship with existing customers. The disadvantage of an older employee over a younger employee is his inability to quickly adapt to his changing environment. Younger employees are more “hungry” compared to their older counter parts. Their hunger is fired by their goal to quickly move up the corporate ladder.

    Read More

  • Ageism Research Paper

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    Older adults face ageism in work place also. The employer consider older adults as inflexible, unwilling to adapt to technology, resistant to new ways, having some physical limitations, costing more for health insurance and so on. Many researches also show that the older worker was less favored for continued career development and training and unlikely to be promoted. Similarly, the older workers also have the disadvantage shorter interviews, fewer commissions, fewer job offers and are less likely to be hired (Dennis & Thomas,

    Read More

  • Age Discrimination in the Workplace

    1823 Words  | 4 Pages

    The issue at hand constitutes that companies are not willing to look beyond their aging workforce, choosing instead to push them out of the technological loop rather than attempting to incorporate them as valuable assets. "There is enough research that says older workers are dependable, they can change, they can learn. What we haven' t come to grips with is that research and management practice are not always related" (Capowski, 1994, p. 10).

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Aging Population

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    In recent decades, population ageing has become an increasingly noticeable global problem. The trend of population ageing is gradually transforming the chain of socio-economic structure and hampering a nation’s development (Mukherjee, 2015). It is predicted that the working-age population will keep declining in the context of population ageing which will eventually lead to a slump of national productivity and also economic recession (UNFPA, HelpAge International, 2012). However, the changing circumstances of postindustrial era enable mature age workers today extend their working life as a result of longer life expectancy, healthier body, better educated and less physically demanding work (Judith, 2004). The most effective response to this growing dilemma is to increase ageing population’s labor participation through reducing the barriers of

    Read More

  • Age Discrimination In The Workplace Essay

    1779 Words  | 4 Pages

    The American workforce is getting older. Fact, in between 1970 to 1991, the workforce number over the age of 40 in the U.S. has increased from 39,689,000 to 53,940,000. Because of that, the legislative and judicial developments in the age discrimination in employment have occurred (1). The baby-boomer generation - Americans born between 1946 and 1964 represent more than seventy million workers in the U.S. workplace, and that around 50 percent of the whole workforce. The whole baby-boomer generation since 2006 has falls under the protection of the federal laws against acts of discrimination based on age (ADEA) (2). In 2011 more than 40 million people in the United States are ages 65 and older. Moreover,

    Read More

  • Aussieco Case Study

    1497 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human resource polices: HRM procedures can be used both to develop people at work, to control their behaviour and performance” (Child J 2003) Its policies include Team work and Employment security, Careful recruitment, High pay with an incentive element, Extensive training”(Child J 2003).The HRM in Aussieco had no such policies that’s why problems existed. Hierarchy is another issue to be considered which has been greatly criticized (Child J 2003). Hierarchical nature of companies has facilitated the problem of the abuse of corporate power for personal gains (Child J 2003) pg 4. Evidence of this is seen in the CEO’s action.in Aussieco. For an organisation with 600 employees, “there should be two layers above non managerial employee”. (Child J 2003) page 68.Aussieco needs delayering. Work Place problems like in Aussieco occurs when the are unfavourably situations that surround the workplace. Workers of Aussieco come to work generally feeling frustrated as the conditions that surround their arrival, work and departure are not conducive. Group problems, senior management have their own dinning room and sales staff. These are people who should mix up with the other employees. Problems occur when it is difficult for other members of the organisation to be a part of the group like in Aussieco . Leadership: Traits approach: Certain traits are needed in an individual to emerge as a leader (Bozionelos N 2008) seen in the Big five traits “Emotional stability, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion” (McCrae and Costa 1987) To become a leader you need to be high on conscientiousness, openness, extraversion and low on agreeableness. (Timothy Judge and his associates 2002). To be an effective leader, a person should be high on extraversion, openness but low on conscientiousness (Judge, Bono, Ilies and Gerhardt, 2002). Situational approach In judging leadership it may vital to look at the favourableness of the situation to the leader (The Fielders contingency model 1964 and 1967).

    Read More

  • External Enviromental Forces That Impact Organizations

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    Daft, R.L. and Marcic, D. (2013) Management: The New Work Place, International, 8th edition Canada South- Western Cengage Learning.

    Read More

  • The Older Worker

    2072 Words  | 5 Pages

    There appears to be considerable variation in the concept of older worker as defined by age alone. The term older worker extends from 40 to 75 years of age. When workers at age 40 are referred to as older workers, age is linked to beginning thoughts about retirement decisions (Rosen and Jerdee 1986), the decline in training opportunities (Cooke 1995), the dispelling of myths about the productivity of an aging work force (Kaeter 1995a), or the need for ...

    Read More

  • History Of Human Resource Management

    1796 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Age Discrimination In The Workplace Essay

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    Age discrimination is one of the most talked about and most relevant issue in the workplace today. We see that age discrimination can happen to anyone at any level of society. There are laws protecting some but others are left defenseless. The laws that try to protect workers from discrimination have been helpful for some but many still have a hard time proving they have been wronged. Firms know the laws surrounding age discrimination and they will take the necessary steps to avoid a lawsuit. With firms and employees both wanting what is best for themselves, tensions arise between the two.

    Read More

  • History Of Human Resource Management

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human resource management is the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization's most valued assets - the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business. The terms "human resource management" and "human resources" (HR) have largely replaced the term "personnel management" as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organizations. Human Resource management is evolving rapidly. Human resource management is both an academic theory and a business practice that addresses the theoretical and practical techniques of managing a workforce. (1)

    Read More

  • Human Resource Challenges of the 21st Century

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    Noe, Raymond A., John R. Hollenbeck, Barry Gerhart, and Patrick M. Wright. Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. 7th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010. Print.

    Read More

More about The Effect of the External Environment on Work in Australia

Open Document