Managing the HR Function Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing the HR Function - Essay Example So it is possible in principle to be included via representative participation (e.g., by union members or by members of the same group assessing acceptability and fairness of selection processes or instruments) (Dale, 2006). The importance of rigorous and detailed job analysis in underpinning human resource development and in sustaining an integrated approach to human resource management cannot be overestimated. Recruitment and selection procedures, training needs analysis, and appraisal procedures etc., are all likely to benefit from job or competency definitions which are produced directly from an analysis of job behaviors. As a result procedures for recruitment and selection, etc. are likely to be more accurate and less susceptible to bias and distortion than some other previously utilized techniques, for example, the traditional interview process relying on instinctive criteria or a 'gut feeling'. Person specification involves education and training information, qualifications and personal qualities. It is likely that job descriptions would conform to the framework discussed earlier for competencies. That is, they would be composed of elements which appear to be generic to most managerial positions (Dale, 2006). Second, that strong occupational sector-specific criteria are also to the fore, and third, that some considerable individuation occurring either through organization-determined or individual needs would also be present in any actual job description that applies to a particular manager in a particular organization (Wood and Payne, 1998). Information is collected about a job in a structured manner and computer analyzed in order to meet a variety of objectives; including, the specification of job tasks and job context, profiling of human attributes required for effective job performance, and the identification of relevant assessment methods. For example, a job descriptio n and person specification can be made through a questionnaire, and can be supplemented with 'validation' interviews conducted by the job analyst where the respondent is questioned about his/her responses Dale, 2006). The advantage and strength of person specifications is that the occupational standards approach advocates the use of 'range statements', describing the range of contexts and applications in which a employees would be expected to achieve the outcome. A specification of the range of contexts in which competence is to be demonstrated is not however a substitute for an assessment of competence which reflects the influence of the organizational climate/environment on an individual's actions/behavior (Wood and Payne, 1998). Where the latter is seen as a necessary and essential part of an individual's competence assessment the occupational standards approach may not, at least in its entirety, be sufficient. In order to perform the job effectively, the breadth of job related knowledge is regarded by managers as substantial across all functions. Leaders of large organizations see the job itself as undergoing basic change. It would seem necessary therefore, first, that anyone who wishes succes sfully to discharge leadership functions must anticipate coping with ongoing change in the organizational environment, and second, that he or she must recognize that leadership is itself undergoing a substantial transformation (Slowik, 2001). Person