People & Organization : Introduction to Human Resource Management

ROLE OF HR MANAGER IN 21ST CENTURY ORGANIZATION

In the 21st century organization, there are number of demands on organization which created through globalization, technological changes and tough competition among competitors etc. Most of the organizations which survive on the same industry may generally consist with same materials and facilities -based resources. Therefore it’s quite difficult to create a competitive advantage based on them. 

Human resources considered as one of the key factor of creating competitive advantage. If an organization is capable of having a human resource well equipped with recent techniques and technology and managing them successfully than their competitors do , there is grater chance to being successful than competitors. Therefore in the 21st century organization, HR Manager play a key role as a business partner and strategic thinker, who make the decisions to navigate the organization toward  the success.

Strategic view of HRM

“an approach to the development and implementation of HR strategies that are integrated with business strategies and support their achievement” (Armstrong, 2014)

21st century approach of HRM is to utilize the knowledge and expertise of people efficiently and effectively to meet organizational targets (Wong & Sell ,2003)

David Ulrich’s HR Model

• David Ulrich –The greatest HR Management Guru has identified 04 key HR roles, which makes the organization effective and friendly to employees.
• According to Ulrich (1996) defined new strategic agenda for HR and a strategic role of HR in the organization.
• He proposed to change the Structure of HR functions and build HR around roles.

Figure 1 : Dave Ulrich’s model of HR Roles

Strategic partner – HR build a strategic partnerships with dedicated internal clients .They influences positively the organization design and identified key top talents. Shares business objectives with the internal clients and incorporate HR goals in to daily agenda.

Change agent - HR participates in the change management teams and take the responsibility to communicate changes internally and gain the trust employees.

Administrative expert - HR implements all requirements evolving from the changes in the legislation, regulation, work & safety rules.

Employee advocate – HR represents employees, protects their interest and make sure that strategic initiatives are well balanced Eg; Training & development session to develop skills and competencies of employees.

Recommendation

Role of HR manager has been changed with evolution of the HRM. In the current context they need to be thoroughly expertise and be capable to play the HR role to gain the competitive edge over others (Nasir , 2017).

In order to respond the challenges in the 21st century organization, HR managers have to ;

• Become a strategic partner of the organization by attracting and retaining talented employees and train & develop them to meet the ultimate objectives of the organization.
• Implement modern ways of effective talent acquisition to attract and retain the best people.
• Support changes in the organization by leading and guiding the employees to live in the organization under the changing environment. Eg: Plan training sessions, update job descriptions etc..
• Run the organization as a productivity centre that enhances the profitability of the organization through enhancing productivity of the peoples in the organization.
• Conduct training & development session to develop skills and competencies of employees as this will incur the organization a competitive edge over others.

References

Armstrong , M., 2014. Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management. 13th ed. London: British Library.

Nasir , S.Z., 2017. Emerging Challenges of HRM in 21st Century:A Theoretical Analysis. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(3), pp.216-22.

Ulrich, D., 1996. Human Resource Champion : The next agenda of adding value and delivering results. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Wong,Y. L., & Snell, R.S., 2003. Employee workplace effectiveness : implications for performance management practices and research. Journal of General Management, 29(2), pp.53-69.