Introduction
Human resource management is responsible for managing the human resource management of an organization. The branch of management is responsible for recruiting training and motivating employees so that they can improve the performance of an organization. CUERO Ltd is a manufacturing company in the UK. The company manufactures shoes. It also runs various retail shops, distribution shops, and mail order businesses. Since its establishment, the human resource of the company performed well initially but since the succession of the founder, it has not performed well leading to the mismanagement of the company resources and the poor performance of the organization. This paper examines the performance of human resource management in CUERO Ltd.
Human Resource Management in CUERO Ltd
CUERO Ltd initially had effective human resource management when the founder was still running the company. However, since the founder passed leadership to his sons, the management and human resource management was not the same again. During the reign of the founder, the management of human resources was characterized by teamwork and cooperation among employees that saw the company grow and perform well. With no cooperation, the successors of the founder neglected the employees with their aim profiting only and not the company growth, the company failed to perform optimally. According to Fombrun, Tichy & Devanna (1984, p. 13), one of the duties of the human resource is to recruit employees that fit into the resources of the organization as well as execute the strategic decision making of the organization. However, the management of CUERO Ltd failed to execute these functions by having less competent employees that contributed to the lack of innovativeness and creativity in the organization, hence its poor performance.
Literature Discussion
The branch of management that deals with the management of the human capital in an organization is human resource management. According to West (2004, p. 18), the management of the human resources of an organization is the main function of human resource management. The roles include making decisions on the staffing needs of the organization, using contractors that are independent to fulfill the needs, recruiting employees, training, and ensuring that employees produce the best results that can lead to the high performance of the organization. Armstrong (2000) notes that the human resource management of an organization should be involved in initiating activities and approaches that lead to employee performance improvement. Such activities include the motivation of employees through increased remuneration, training, motivation, and benefits.
Strategic human resource management has been on the increased use in many organizations. This form of management is charged with the responsibility of managing the human resource of an organization together with strategic planning of the effective use of human resources in the firm. Strategic human resource management is important and involves strategic planning, formulation of strategies, implementation of the strategies, and the evaluation of the specific human resource strategies implemented by an organization.
According to Mathis & Jackson (2007, p. 25), strategic planning is concerned with various activities of a strategic plan for the human resource of the company. They further argue that the role of human resource management is a frontier in the formulation of strategies of an organization. Human resource management has been traditionally considered an important factor in the management of an organization after strategic business decisions have been made. However, it is today an integral part of strategy formulation in an organization. The human resource is responsible for implementing the already formulated strategies for the effective management of the human resources of an organization. West (2004) notes that the human resource is an important tool and thus central to the organization in terms of selecting the right people to run the organization, the rewards given to the employees, the motivation, the staffing, and the organization patterns that match the strategic plans of the company (Stafford, 1997).
According to Fombrun, Tichy & Devanna (1984, p. 23), the implementation duties of the human resource are well discussed in terms of the selection process of employees, the rewarding process, the development process, and the employee appraisal processes. The process of selecting and recruiting employees is important to an organization because it determines the competence of the employees of an organization. Shinda (n.d.) adds that the essential process is the one that matches the available resources of the firm to the job opportunities in the organization. After determining the available positions, the human resource asses the available pull of people to determine the best fit. The selected employees should cooperate in their various duties to lead to the excellence of the organization in performance. Apart from recruiting employees, the human resource should motivate the employees through various strategies.
Strategic human resource management should be matched with the mission and goals of the organization. According to Fombrun, Tichy & Devanna (1984, p. 20), every organization is usually established to accomplish a given goal and mission. The mission of the firm should match the mission of human resource management. Boxall (1992, p. 59) complements that human resource management should fit into the structure of the organization hence being incorporated into the decision-making organ of the organization. Thus, the organization should depict high levels of teamwork for the effective achievement of the set goals. Effective teamwork involves all sectors of the organization including the high management levels to lower levels in the organization such as subordinates.
Recommendations and Conclusion
The human resource in CUERO Ltd was not well managed especially after the succession of the founder by his sons. The two sons did not have a common goal and they lacked cooperation and teamwork. With these weaknesses, the new company that was sold to new stakeholders can improve human resource management in various ways. To begin with, the management needs to improve the level of teamwork in the organization. This can be improved by increasing the level of communication in the organization. Increased communication will help employees reveal their de-motivators as well as cooperate in performing their duties.
The location of CUERO Ltd is in a place that is characterized by high unemployment. However, the high levels of unemployment do not justify the low pay that employees receive. The management should increase the wages of employees. Increased salaries will not only increase the level of job satisfaction but will also increase the level of employee commitment to the company, hence increasing in the morale of employees and motivation for work. Given that the management has increased communication and teamwork, team performance and the individual employee performance will improve hence improved performance of the organization. Additionally, human resource management can be improved if the strategic function can be added to its functions. The strategic function of the human resource in CUERO Ltd will include strategy formulation and strategic decision making in the company.
References
Armstrong, M., 2000. Strategic Human Resource Management: A guide to action. 2 Ed. London: Kogan Page Publishers.
Boxall, P., 1992. Strategic Human Resource Management: Beginnings of a New Theoretical Sophistication? Human Resource Management Journal, Vol.2 No.3.
Fombrun, C., Tichy, N. & Devanna, M., 1984. Strategic Human Resource Management, New Jersey: John Willey and Sons.
Mathis, R. & Jackson, J., 2007. Human Resource Management, Stamford: Cengage Learning.
Shinda, R., n.d. ‘What is Strategic Human resource Management?’ Web.
Stafford, D., 1997. ‘Working with the theory of employee teamwork,’ Journal Record, Kansas City Star, Web.
West, M., 2004. Effective teamwork: practical lessons from organizational research, 2 Ed. New Jersey: Willey-Blackwell.