HR Topics in Major Business

¶ … HR topics in Major Business Magazines Quote #1: Dave Kieffer, leader of Mercer Human Resource Consulting: "These are not surveys or perceptual data.

These are measures of how people actually behave, how they respond to the rules and rewards of their companies, and whether they flourish, languish, or leave." The underlying idea of this quote is that, while the statistics and the numerical evidence is useful in the assessment of the staff members and in the development and implementation of human resource strategies, it is even more important to understand the people first, rather than the statistics.

In a more professional formulation, qualitative analyses are just as important as quantitative analyses in the management of the human resource. Quote #2: Susan Adams, Forbes editor "I also understand that I've so far only scratched the surface of what LinkedIn can do. People actively searching for jobs can make use of oceans of data that LinkedIn's 70 million users have created." The essence of this quote reveals the multiple changes which have affected the business community and as such the recruiting operations.

One such change is the integration of the internet within HR endeavors, and a relevant example in this sense is the LinkedIn professional website. Quote #3: Sara E. Needleman, The Wall Street Journal Editor: "While some might argue we're still in a recession, the study showed that most benefits remained fairly stable between 2010 and 2009 after a small decrease between 2008 and 2006.

But, the study shows that overall, many benefit offerings are down overall from five years ago." This quote reveals the fact that the changes in the international social and economic climates have impacted the motivational and employee satisfaction strategies implemented by organizational leaders. A reason in this sense could be constituted by the wider access to specialized human resource.

Quote #4: Lisa Thomas, Financial Times editor "During the global downturn, foreign companies in China had little difficulty retaining staff, but conditions are changing as the country helps lead the world out of recession." The Chinese labor force is vast and cheap and the second criterion was the most important one for foreign developers. As the needs of the business community however evolve, the Chinese labor force is more thoroughly evaluated in order to identify the most talented staff members and candidates.

As a parenthesis, times of financial constraint represent a solid opportunity for talent scout.

Quote #5: Liz Ryan, Business Week editor: "Lots of HR people I know, for instance, complain about the constant cost-cutting that turns them into the bad guys who must inform employees on a regular basis of reductions in everything from travel allowances to flavors of tea in the break room." There is also a humane side to human resource management in the meaning that it involves direct interaction with the staff members, and this interaction is sometimes difficult. In other words, not all individuals can perform the HRM tasks.

Quote #6: Discussing the management of an exhibit with millions of participants, Hong Hao states that "We are learning the experience everyday." Extrapolating this statement to the overall management of the human resource, it becomes obvious that the practice is not exhaustive and that managers need to continually learn and feel new experiences in order to continually improve their processes.

Quote #7: Mayank Chandra, WSJ editor: "Many people are now leaving because they feel they were not treated fairly by their companies during, and even before, the economic downturn of 2008-09." Despite the troubles encountered within the global financial sector, companies need to always remain focused on the well-being of the employees. In case this is not accomplished, once the crisis has passed, the employees will lash out, just like the Indian ones are doing now.

Quote #8: Amy Carr, Red Door Interactive co-founder: "Recruiting, in particular is a pure form of marketing. You're selling the company, qualifying people, and developing relationships." This statement was issued by Amy Car, a former marketing specialist who notes the interrelatedness between the two seemingly different business functions. Quote #9: Michelle Conlin, Business Week editor: "That's why the next front in the Wellness Wars is not about you.

It's about your husband, your wife, and your kids." In a world in which the sedentary life style and the fast food alimentation are making more and more victims, employers strive to motivate the employees to get in better shape and improve their life conditions. As these endeavors have mostly failed, employers now target the family members of the employees as an effort of increasing the success rates of the improved life style program.

An example in this sense includes the payment of gym subscriptions to the employee and their spouse. Quote #10: Gill Plimmer, Financial Times editor: "High-profile deals have seen desperate staff signing up for reduced hours or less pay, instead of risking their jobs -- although in some cases, as at JCB, the construction equipment maker, layoffs have eventually followed." According to Plimmer, the economic crisis has taken a severe toll on the means in which companies treat their staff members.

And just like the financial crisis, the measures which have been taken to lower the costs with the staff members would not be renounced in the immediate future.

References: Adams, S., 2010, Expert tips for using LinkedIn, Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/07/linkedin-advanced-tips-jobs-hiring-leadership-careers-networking.html last accessed on July 19, 2010 Buchanan, L., 2010, Human resources: generous from get-go, Inc., http://www.inc.com/top-workplaces/2010/articles/human-resources.html last accessed on July 19, 2010 Chandra, M., India Career Journal: angry employees lash back, The Wall Street Journal, http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/07/08/india-career-journal-angry-employees-lash-back/?KEYWORDS=human+resources last accessed on July 20, 2010 Conlin, M., 2010, Health care: human resources targets your family, Business Week, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_05/b4165067423261.htm last accessed.