HR practices vary from one company, or organization, to another. This happens for many reasons such as tradition, not understanding strategic HR, being ok with the status quo, and the lack of time, money, or personnel to change the organizational paradigm. Whatever the reason, one can usually see the differences between companies who have progressive HR practices and companies who do not. Here, we will compare and contrast the HR Practices of REI, Inc. and the Charlotte Fire Department (CFD). I have chosen a local government entity since I work in the fire service myself. Traditional public agencies, like a fire department, often differ greatly in the ability to provide certain policies and initiatives as compared to a private organization. A noticeable distinction of HR Practices exist between REI and the CFD, and HR practices such as Analyses of work design, HR planning, Recruiting, Selection, Training and development, Compensation, Performance management, become pivotal dimensions to evaluating differences between the two organizations. A public service organization such as a fire department does not have competition when providing services. A fire department has a specific jurisdictional area that no one else can operate within unless the fire department requests mutual aid. Unlike REI, who competes with other sports equipment outfitters who also sell outdoor equipment, a fire department only competes for tax revenue to run the business. REI sells a product to gain revenue, and a fire department provides a service sustained by a tax base. As REI is accountable to its coop and the customers and members it serves, a fire department is also accountable for their actions, but to the citizens and customers who expect a quality ser... ... middle of paper ... ...ent companies, one private and one public, but they generally value certain priorities such as diversity, recruitment and retention, and compensation, they just happen to carry out these priorities a little differently. On the human resource side, I believe REI is more strategic in nature than the CFD. On the other hand, the CFD is more hierarchical and functional in nature and naturally remains more traditional when comparing human resource management. The CFD constantly strives to make improvements concerning HR initiatives, and I hope they continue to move in the direction of a more integrated strategic human resource management philosophy. Works Cited Noe, Raymond A., et al. Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2010. Print. Recreation Equipment Inc. REI.com. N.p., n.d. Web. Sept. and Oct. 2011.
REI’s HR department description leads one to believe that HR has a larger role than just traditional functions.
... to disadvantage workers, a new emphasis was put on 'human resources'. At the present time H.R has a vital place in companies and businesses all over the world, the human resources department is mostly in charge of employee wellbeing, they exist for reasons such as: getting workers fair wages, helping workers along their career path and overseeing the treatment and responsibilities of workers. Joan E. Pynes discusses this in her educational book 'Human Resources Management for Public and Non-profit Organizations', she defines human resource management as "The design of formal systems in an organization to ensure the effective use of employees' knowledge, skills, abilities to accomplish organizational goals" (Pynes, Joan E. 2013). A system such as this is put in place for worker empowerment, employees know that they have someone fighting for them and this results in
Ulrich, D., Younger, J., and Brockbank, W. 2008. “The twenty-first century HR organization.” Human Resource Management, 47, pp.829-850.
Hailey, V. H., Farndale, E. & Truss, C. (2005) ‘The HR department’s role in organizational performance’, Human Resource Management Journal, 15(3), 49-66.
Human resource management can be viewed as the spider web that entangles a company’s workforce. HR departments are involved in employee’s work lives from the recruitment and selection process, to the training and development, performance reviews, and the compensation
Human resource management and the organizations in which it takes place are facing challenges from a changing environment. Hiring the proper people with the appropriate skills is an essential part of maintaining the workplace. Economic issues which include downsizing, organizational culture, productivity, ethics, demographics, and diversity plays a significant role when redesigning a company 's Human Resource Department. Success in the field of Human Resource requires an update of knowledge continually. Training, certifications, hands-on experience, and tactic knowledge helps to perform a difficult redesigning task with speed and sensitivity. Human Resource actions are comprised of but not limited to equal employment, staffing, compensation, benefits, labor relations, and safety. Ethical issues are
Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Balkin, D. B., & Cardy, R. L. (2007). Managing Human Resources (5th
This paper will attempt to give a broad overview from the available literature within three areas. First, the paper will explore the historical relationships of HR and organizational strategy. Second, the paper will give an overview of current practices and trends. Lastly,...
In the past Human Resource (HR) professionals built staffing, compensation, training, and other programs and policies that focused on employees and kept companies legally compliant. The HR function tended to be positioned at the end of the business chain and often focused on carrying out activities rather than achieving results (Dunn, 2006). But in the last decade, HR professionals have worked to become business partners by aligning their work with business strategies. This is important because being strategic means having an impact on corporate goals and objectives. As a result, HR professionals have been spending more time with general managers and with their counterparts in sales, marketing, and manufacturing to ensure that HR work adds value to the organization and helps deliver business results.
The HR Professionals must also work hard to add value to the organization's competencies to expand and prosper internationally by building global HR networks (Saeed, 2004). This is in addition to their traditional responsibility to resource, manage, and develop employees. The companies continuously face declining revenues, shrinking market share, increasing costs, and depleting shareholder value; therefore; the HR processionals should works to deliver sustainable value to the
The field of human resources (HR) plays a critical role in the performance and success of organizations. As organizations have become increasingly more complex, the effective management of HR has become even more important. The traditional perception of HR as only an administrative office is no longer valid. Instead, contemporary HR is directly involved with the internal organizational structure, business operations, and variety of functions carried out by employees on a daily basis (Reed & Bogardus, 2012). HR functions impact the organization’s strategic planning, improvement processes, and goal achievement. Six core bodies of knowledge provide the foundation for all of these HR functions. These areas are: strategic management; workforce planning and employment; human resource development; total rewards; employee and labor relations; and risk management (Reed & Bogardus, 2012).
Proper use of human resource can improve an organization’s performance. As the human resource department gains attention to frontline managers they can become more familiar with the organizations goals and development. Other ways to focus on the effectiveness of the HR departments is by utilizing employee contributions, because employee opinions brings forth a change that can better the organization. Wan-Jing & Tung (2010) without employee contributions, it is impractical to establish whether an organizations HR department is beneficial to employees, or that it only contributes to negative quality of working life. HR departments contribute to equal performance appraisal of employees and management, which helps develop understanding and a fair work environment that produces important benefits. Such benefit outcomes of HR have demonstrated as; employee motivation, commitment, training levels, reduced turnover and absenteeism rates (Wan-Jing et al, 2010). By sustaining a proper HR department in an organization, HR will bring in a strategic objective which will help
Human resource policies are created to oversee employee welfare and ensure fairness (David 2004). These policies ensur...
... those roles are focusing on recruitment, employee performance management benefits, compensation, training and retention in an organization. In health care facilities the individual in charge of the Human Resources department will most likely report to one of the organization’s two top executive; the President or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or the Executive Vice President or Chief Operating officer (COO).Most of today’s health care Human Resources function report to the top executive.
1. Mello Jeffrey A. (2002) Strategic Human Resource Management. South Western Press, Canada. 2. William P. Anthony et al (1999) Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach. Harcort, Inc., USA