An overview of human resources management and workplace practices

In this essay, we provide an overview of the topic of human resources.  This includes an overview of what human resources is, human resource responsibilities, human resources management, human resources training, and common human resources issues.  In addition to thoroughly examining the topic of human resources, the essay provides a great example of an academic essay.  It does so by providing all of the elements of a traditional academic essay, including: introduction, hook, thesis statement, a body with evidence and analysis of that evidence, a conclusion, and a reference section.  The essay also includes properly cited sources in an academic format.  You can use the essay as a template for an academic essay, as well as a primer on human resources. 

Related Topics

Employment Laws- There are a variety of different laws that impact employment in the United States.  From laws about hiring and recruitment regulations to laws governing hours, wages, and working conditions, knowledge of the laws is essential for human resource professionals as well as for employees.  This essay would explore some of the various laws that impact employment in the United States and whether those laws are applicable only under special circumstances or in all employment scenarios.  

The Outsourcing of Human Resources- What does it mean to have a career in human resources and are human resource professionals likely to have job stability.  With outsourcing in a lot of human resource areas, are human resource professionals an area that is likely to remain in-house or will the trend of outsourcing human resources continue.  Do outsourced human resource departments help or hurt businesses and employees?  This essay would explore the idea of outsourcing as it relates to human resources, whether that threatens human resource professionals, and whether it hurts or helps businesses.  

Training for Human Resources- Human resources professionals have to put on multiple different hats.  What type of specialized training goes into preparing someone for a career in human resources?  Should other employees have similar types of training to help reduce the likelihood of issues in the workplace? This essay will look at whether broad-based training would reduce the need for human resource professionals in the average workplace.  

Titles
An Overview of Human Resources
The Viability of Human Resources as a Career
How Human Resource Professionals Impact the Workplace
The Interaction Between Human Resources and the Law

Outline

I. Introduction

II. Body

A. What is human resources? 

B. Human resources responsibilities

C. Human resources management

D. Human resources training

E. Human resources issues

III. Conclusion 

Introduction

For most of the history of employment, employee satisfaction was not considered an important component of the job.  Instead, there were very few rules or laws governing how employees could be treated in the workplace.  Employees who were capable of providing high-quality, sought-after work, in competitive marketplaces were in a position to demand better treatment, but employees who could be easily replaced were often seen as disposable.  Employee efforts to seek better treatment through things like unionization, were not only opposed, but sometimes violently opposed by workers.  These problems began to be highlighted during industrialization, when employer abuses of employees in factories and sweatshops were rampant.  However, these atrocities led to an awareness that employers often mistreated their employees in ways that were simply intolerable.  These early workplace abuses led to the creation of laws governing employment.  Initially, these laws were very basic and offered only the most limited protections to workers.  For example, early labor laws governed the minimum age for employment, the maximum hours employees could work, and even began to establish minimum wages.  Employment law has evolved, so that employees have greater expectations and rights than they did in the past.  This evolving area of the law can be complex for employers, especially if the employer is a larger organization where managers or owners cannot have personal contact with all employees.  

The role of the human resources department is to act as a liaison between the employer and the employee.  Human resources ensures that a company is complying with all applicable state, local, and federal employment laws.  Human resources also ensures that employees are complying with company policies and helps formulate disciplinary plans for employees who are not complying with policies.  In addition, human resources if responsible for administering employee benefit packages.  The goal of the human resources department is to attract and retain high-quality employees for their organization, while also ensuring that the department complies with all applicable rules and laws.  

Human Resources Management

Human Resources Management (HRM) focuses on recruiting, managing, and providing direction for employees in an organization.  HRM has an influence on every aspect of an organization, from customer interaction to high-level decision making.  HRM professionals are responsible for providing employees with the necessary tools, training, coaching, advice, and oversight required to fulfill their job responsibilities.  Therefore, HRM may be responsible for organizational development, through team building, assignment of job responsibilities, and encouraging employee engagement.  In addition to interacting with individual employees, HRM is responsible for developing and implementing an organization’s mission, vision, and values.  Depending on an organization’s culture, line managers may interact significantly with HRM, because they are in daily contact with down-the-line employees.  However, there is usually a separation between HRM and management, because HRM is responsible for oversight for managers, as well as other employees.   

Because HRM is responsible for determining which employees fill necessarily roles in a company, it is also the part of an organization that often interacts with third-party contractors and may be responsible for outsourcing different roles for outside vendors.  Some functions that are frequently outsourced include payroll, janitorial or maintenance functions, background checks, training, and handling temporary staffing requirements.  

The role of HRM in organization has evolved in recent times.  HRM was once considered subordinate to management, which could make it difficult for HR specialists to advocate on behalf of employees.  However, HRM is no longer expected to take a subordinate position.  “HR is now expected to sit at the executive table and recommend processes, approaches, and business solutions that improve the ability of the organization’s people to effectively contribute” (Heathfield, 2019).  

Human Resources Training

Becoming a human resources specialist usually requires either specialized education or on-the-job experience.  Usually, human resources professional need a bachelor’s degree in human resources, business management, or a related field.  However, most larger organizations actually want HR specialists to have an advanced degree.  These include a variety of different master’s degrees in human resources.  They may be specialized or general degrees, and are usually Master of Arts in Human Resource Management or Master of Science in Human Resource Management.  Some subspecialties under the HR umbrella include organizational development, human resource management, and human resource performance.  

Alternatively, HR specialists may want an advanced degree that includes, but is not focused on human resources.  The most common of these degrees is a Master of Business Administration (MBA), which may or may not be focused on human resource management.  For some organizations, an MBA will be enough for an HR professional to enter into management, but other organization will specifically want an MBA with a focus on HRM.  s If you have experience in human resources, but a non-related degree. 

Another interesting approach, which may limit job opportunities, but is focused on how employees and employer interact, is Industrial/Organizational Psychology.  I/O psychologists focus on human behavior in the workplace, and may work with HRM to help improve employee satisfaction and job performance.  Generally, I/O psychologists would need a Master’s Degree in Psychology, with an emphasis on I/O to work in a HRM department, because there is not enough time for specialization in a bachelor degree program.  “I/O Psychologists are scientist-practitioners who have expertise in the design, execution, and interpretation of research in psychology and who apply their findings to help address human and organizational problems in the context of organized work” (APA, 2019).  Like HR professionals, I/O psychologists can identify training needs, coach employees, develop training programs, help optimize work-life balance, evaluate employees, and help assess and develop consumer and market strategies. 

Another way to ensure adequate training for a HRM specialist is through certification.  Two organizations in the United States focus on HR certifications: the Society of Human Resource Management and the HR Certification Institute.  Both organizations offer a variety of different certification types, depending on the emphasis of the person seeking certification.  They also offered tiered certification, which can help indicate whether a professional can handle higher management functions within a company’s HR department. 

Human Resources Issues

There are a number of different issues that HR professional may need to be able to help resolve.  Many of these focus on potential conflicts in the workplace, but others are driven completely by outside factors.  Broadly speaking, these issues can be broken down into three categories: non-employee factors, employee wrongdoing, and employee satisfaction. 

The first category, non-employee factors, refers to a HR specialist’s need to understand a variety of rules and regulations that impact employment, without regards to a particular employee’s job performance or on-the-job behavior.  HR specialists need to ensure that all employees fill out the necessary paperwork for income tax withholding, and handle medical insurance and other employee benefits.  They also need to ensure that the company is complying with applicable state and federal rules and regulations for employment, from ensuring that wage and hour laws are respected to making sure that employees are free from workplace harassment.  

When an employee has done something wrong, the HR department is also responsible for handling that problem.  This could be for a wide variety of problems, and solutions may be relatively simple.  For example, an employee who is not meeting productivity goals may need to be retrained or transferred to a different job.  On the other hand, HRM would also be involved if an employee was accused of wrongdoing, such as sexual harassment of another employee.  In those scenarios, the company is legally obligated to take protective action for the victimized employee, but may have to follow specific steps to retrain and/or discipline an offending employee before termination.  If an employee commits a crime while at work, the HR department may also be responsible for initiating a criminal investigation and terminating an employee. 

Finally, HR professionals have to focus on employee satisfaction.  Employee satisfaction is a catch-all phrase that actually covers a tremendous variety of different behaviors.  HR specialists may help implement workplace programs or amenities, such as birthday celebrations, in-house daycare, or benefits linked to smoking cessation or weight loss.  Employee satisfaction also involves advocating for an employee when that employee alleges that the company or a coworker has violated any rules or laws.

Conclusion
Human Resource Management is an evolving field that has had a significant impact on the face of the American workforce.  More than simply ensuring compliance with laws dictating minimum acceptable standards for employers, HR specialists help create corporate cultures that are designed to attract and retain high-quality talent, with the goal of increasing both worker productivity and worker satisfaction.  This challenging field requires professionals who possess an understanding of business, as well as a keen understanding of human nature.  In addition to overviewing human resources, this essay also provided you with a pattern you can use, not just when writing your own essay about HR, but for writing any academic essay.  You can use it for an example of how to write an academic essay, how to include references in your paper, and how to write a works cited page.  If you have any additional questions about HRM or want help in writing your own custom essay, please contact us; we are happy to help.  

Works Cited

American Psychological Organization.  “Industrial and Organizational Psychology.”  American 

Psychological Association. 2019.  https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/industrial.  Accessed 16 May 2019.  

Heathfield, Susan.  “What is Human Resource Management?”  The Balance Careers.  6 May

2019.  https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-human-resource-management-1918143.  Accessed 16 May 2019.  

Human Resources Edu.  “How to Become a Human Resources Specialist.”  

HumanResourcesEdu.com.  2019.  https://www.humanresourcesedu.org/hr-specialist/.  Accessed 16 May 2019.