Human resources unit 6 overview and key concepts

¶ … staff member is perceived as the most valuable organizational asset (Mayo, 2001). This trend and perception was initially set within the service providing industry, but it eventually expanded to also include the manufacturing sector as well as the public sector. Nevertheless, the applications of human resource practices and policies remain less intense in sectors outside the services.

Within the public sector for instance, managers tend to be more focused on the completion of the task and the relationship they establish with the individual is paid less attention. Additionally, the public sector has often been accused by the private business community of not sufficiently motivating and rewarding its staff members, but also for insufficiently focusing on the efficiency of the operations completed.

At the personal level of this writer, working in the public sector, it has to be stated that the relationship with the direct supervisor is less fruitful than initially hoped. And this poor relationship is often assimilated with the low quality of the communications between the two parties. In this order of ideas, the employee has to directly interact with the citizens and attend to their problems. But in doing so, they often require the support of the supervisor. The supervisor on the other hand is often focused on allocating the resources and focuses on the overall mission of the agency, being too busy to deal with the independent tasks.

This context then leads to situations in which the subalterns reach out to the manager for guidance, but the manager is caught up in his own responsibilities. Additionally, the manager himself is pressured by the sustained high levels of bureaucracy and by the fact that he constantly has to report and explain to his own superiors. In this setting, the subalterns are frustrated because they cannot communicate with the manager and get the support they need to adequately complete their jobs; the citizens are also frustrated because they do not get the support they need and the manager feels torn down between several responsibilities he cannot possibly complete to the best degree.

Based on this realization, it would be safe to conclude that the nature of the emotional bank account is relatively poor. In essence, it is characterized by the following:

A restricted ability to understand the individual

The limited focus on the completion of the smaller task and a restricted emphasis on details

Commitments are kept only as long as they are desirable and in the interest of the public agency, and this has sometimes created frustrations for the employees who were promised a certain benefit, which was then retracted

The expectations are seldom clarified. The goals are not clearly mentioned. Expectations are high, but unclear. Employees are expected to do more than their assigned task, yet opportunities to develop are not offered

Personal integrity is often preserved, and last,

Apologies are seldom formulated when withdrawals are made.