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Running head: HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY

Human Resources Management Case Study An Assignment Submitted by Name of Student Name of Establishment Class XXXX, Section XXXX, Fall 2012

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY Human Resources Management Case Study The six key issues in the analyzed case- study can be seen as problematic and demanding urgent solution. The main cause of difficulties encountered by Director of Human Resources, Clarissa Schoen, is the disapproval or lack of commitment from business managers. This fact leads to following consequence in organization of management process and intra-communication:
1.

Supervisors do not hand in reports and resumes concerning recruitment of new

staff despite the fact that Schoen obliged them to regularly fulfil this duty.
2.

Personnel department cannot decide whether the qualifications of the employed

staff match the necessary competencies.


3.

The dismissal of the employee is being conducted without the supervision and

inspection of HRM Division.


4.

Human Resources manager is unable to conduct proper negotiations with the

business managers so that they report on their actions.


5.

Absence of enthusiasm and dedication from the staff in the project launched by

Clarissa Schoen, aimed at leadership skills development.


6.

Lack of proper understanding of conflict situation between the HR-manager and

the business managers by the CEO. To begin with, the effectiveness of an organization depends from the staff. Professional performance requires high qualifications of staff. The organization, which uses effective hiring process, has a high chance to choose the most suitable candidate for each position. Organization, where the ascribed plan of recruitment process is being

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY neglected, can hardly select the right people for the fulfillment of job duties (Bernardin& Russell, 2012). Thus, requirements for the candidate, requested by the HR-manager should correspond to the actual qualities of the hired staff. It is important that HR-manager applies an expert with general presentation about the organization, who will formulate a job description which will include functions and basic duties of the position, summarize the essence of the work, place of the position in the overall structure of the organization, skills and qualities needed for employees to perform their work. On the basis of the generated picture, the requirements for candidates should be defined. The HR-manager should also play an important role in the interview of candidates (Ingraham& Soonhee, 2012). HR outsourcing should possess the following competencies: attention to detail, meticulous work, the ability to work with repetitive information, handle a large flow of information (Narayanan & Siddharthan, 2012). Dismissal of the worker should be executed in a specific order and following specific regulations which include the involvement of the HR-manager himself. Dismissal order should be filled by human resources practitioners, signed by the head of the organization or person authorized by him and declared to the employee (McConnell, 2011). The constant interaction between HR and supervisors is crucial. It is impossible to build a relationship based on trust and promptly correct the work with the staff according to the needs of the organization without this condition. In my opinion, the main conflict

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY lies in unsatisfactory personal relationship between supervisors and Clarissa Schoen (Noe, 2012). Second, successful work with the leaders of the department of personnel is impossible without certain powers, responsibilities, expectations, and evaluation criteria. If all these options are installed together, the probability of further conflict will be significantly reduced. Negative aspects in the relationship between supervisors and HR-manager should be weakened. That is, in other words, internal communications, which is crucial for normal functioning of the enterprise, suggests establishing decent relations between administration and managers, effective and emotional complicity The basic task is to determine what roles an effective HR Director should play. HR-managers have different responsibilities in different companies, but a qualified specialist should always consider specificity of the company where he works. HR-managers are actively involved in development of the company's strategy in an accessible way to convey its main message to the staff. HR-manager has a responsible position in the organization. He is in charge of efficient coordination of human resources and labor productivity. He should take control of training, selection and remuneration of the staff. He should also perform administrative functions (McConnell, 2011). HR-managers are part of the top management, which obliges them to acquire certain knowledge and skills, such as strategic and systems thinking, leadership and teamwork approach.

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY Thus, professional responsibilities of HR-manager include recruiting, motivation, adaptation of the personnel, staff development, training, development of corporate culture, maintenance of psychological climate, etc (Mathis, & Jackson, 2008). The focus of the company lies on the result. So the main task of HR-manager does not imply connecting people in the internal environment. The priority is to bring human resources for corporate results. The role of HR-manager requires skills of teamwork and communication with people, good analytical skills and strategic thinking to see a connection between the business goals of the company and its instruments, so that he can speak to the management team in one language, knowing the necessary concepts (Snell & Bohlander, 2012). The organization is a kind of a web of relationships, based on the guidelines that were released from employees values and skills. HR-manager is under the influence of various stakeholders, or people who influence his work, on which the success of the company is based (Dessler, 2012). It is a duty of HR- manager to properly select the staff, organize motivation, training, and work with the staff. In addition, he should possess competence of "performance management", which exhibits organizational skills: planning and delegation, ability to install and manage business relationships with partners: recruiters, business coaches, organizers of corporate events and so on (Ulrich, 1996). As we learn from the case study, Schoen was involved in developing a front-line leadership development program. When planning training and development of staff,

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY special attention should be paid to human potential, development of necessary qualities and skills. The next question is whether Clarissa plays her role effectively? According to experts, 80% of business success is ensured by human capital. HRmanagers are hired for selection of personnel and increasing their professional competence. It means that 80% of the company's success depends from their performance (Conaty, Bill, and Ram Charan, 2011). However, Clarissa Schoen is not able to cope with the work in order to gain effective organization of the staff. Most difficult task to be addressed in the HR-management of the company is to establish a system of interaction. As we see, there are no balanced and adjusted communication between business managers, supervisors and HR-manager. Clarissa Schoen encounters misunderstanding, reluctance to talk or open disrespect of the heads of departments, which means that CEO does not realize the importance of her work as the human resource manager, or not clearly convey it to the business managers. It is important for HR manager to understand whether she has enough power to change the situation (Kleiman, 2009). The folowwing task is to identify possible solutions that Clarissa might explore. The main reason for the problem issues which Clarissa Schoen is faced with is disrespect and disobedience from the side of business managers and supervisors of the company. In this case, HR-manager should improve her communication skills, the ability to express her thoughts and lead group discussions. The manager must be able to position himself as a member of the management team and effectively influence the company's business (Kleiman, 2009).

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY As the HR-manager, she should develop a set of leadership skills and competencies: perseverance, self-confidence, ability to take responsibility for the introduction of any new program, be an expert in her field and understand how the particular HR-tool will work on the company's business, use a variety of internal and external resources effectively (Tyobeka& International Atomic Energy Agency, 2011). She should obtain such competencies necessary for HR-partner as the ability to position herself in the management team so that she will be taken seriously by her recommendations: have an impeccable reputation as an expert in his field, develop marketing expertise, be able to present and promote new solutions to the head and approaches in the field of human resources (Stone, 2010). Inconsistency problem results from the possible unreached expectations from the work of the employed HR-manager. In other words, executives and managers probably imagined personnel specialist in completely different way. It ultimately leads not only to mutual disappointment of executives and managers, but to misunderstanding and conflict. First we need to understand the purpose for which the CEO employed personnel manager and whether Clarissa Schoen suits for this position. (Cascio& Boudreau, 2012). One of the reasons for the contradiction between management and the HR department is the lack of proper distribution of "influence zones". Top managers may be afraid of HRintervention in the affairs of the department under their competence. The only way to prevent distrusts and even clashes on this basis is a clear separation of duties (Anguish, 2007). The following recommendations for development of interaction in the corporate team can be proposed to Ms Schoen. All HR-procedures in the company should be

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY properly regulated. They have to work not only on paper but in practice as well. If the relevant regulations are absent as in the analyzed case, the primary task is their establishment and approval by the CEO in the first place. The owner of the company should regularly arrange meetings with the HRmanager. Ideally, such a meeting should take place once a week and last about 30-40 minutes. Besides, meetings with the heads of departments must also be planned and hold at a regular basis. The HR- manager should take into consideration that challenges and opportunities of service personnel are often contradictory to fundamental objectives of the business. It is important to keep a finger on the pulse to bring these conflicts especially associated with the dismissal (mentioned in the case-study) to a minimum. Conclusion Overall, the main objectives of HR-manager include organization of the companys staff, development of regulations, corporate culture, hiring, motivation, appraisal and evaluation of the staff, its training and development, participation in the strategic management of the organization as part of personnel management. The problem in the analyzed case study is based on the fact that being a coordinator of certain supervisors, the personnel manager has to be approved by them in terms of the professional competence and level of subordination. However, Clarissa Schoen, hired for the position of the Director of Human Resources, has faced several difficulties with the establishment of contact with the supervisors and managers which has hindered productive working process.

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY

References Anguish, L. K. (2007). GPHR certification guide. Alexandria, VA: Human Resource Certification Institute. Bernardin, H. J., & Russell, J. E. (2012). Human resource management: An experiential approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Cascio, W. F., & Boudreau, J. W. (2012). Short introduction to strategic human resource management. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Conaty, Bill, and Ram Charan (2011). The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers. Crown Publishing Group. Dessler, G (2012). A framework for human resource management. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Pearson Prentice Hall. Ingraham, Patricia W., & Kim, Soonhee. (2012). Public Sector Human Resource Management. Sage Pubns Ltd. Kleiman, L. S. (2009). Human resource management: A managerial tool for competitive advantage. Mason, OH: South-Western. Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2008). Human resource management. Princeton, N.J: Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic. McConnell, J. H. (2011). Auditing your human resources department: A step-bystep guide to assessing the key areas of your program. New York: American Management Association. Narayanan, Krishnan, & Siddharthan, Natteri. (2012). Human Capital and Development: The Indian Experience. Springer Verlag.

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY Noe, RA (2012). Human resource management: gaining a competitive advantage, New York, NY, McGraw-Hill Irwin. Snell, S., & Bohlander, G. W. (2012). Principles of human resource management. Mason, Ohio: South-Western. Stone, RJ (2010). Managing human resources, Milton, Qld, John Wiley & Sons Australia, 454 - 455. Tyobeka, M., & International Atomic Energy Agency. (2011). Construction technologies for nuclear power plants. Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency. Ulrich, Dave (1996). Human Resource Champions. The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.

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