8 Human Resources Management

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8 HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

8.1 AIMS OF THE LECTURE
a) To outline the roles of human resources management
b) To examine common management structures and the position of human resources
c) To explore the duties of human resources unit in a shipyard

8.2 THE ROLES OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

a) What is human resource?
Human resource is a term used to describe the individuals who comprise the workforce of an
organization, those who staff and operate the organisation.

Human resources can be categorised into two groups i.e. direct human resources and indirect
human resource.

Direct human resources are the workforce who belongs to the organisation and work fully for
the organisation. Examples of these are:

• Production line workforce
• Administration staff
• Management staff
• Office workers such as: designers, computer programmers
• Financial staff
• Marketing staff

Indirect human resources are the people who do the complementary or supporting work to the
organisation and are not belong to or fully work for the organisation. Examples of these are:

• Sub-contractors
• Suppliers
• Auditors
• Surveyors and inspectors
• Janitors

b) Human resource management
Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to
people such as recruiting, organisation development, performance management,
compensation, safety, welfare, health, employee motivation, communication, administration,
and training.





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c) Objectives of the human resource management
The main objectives of the human resources management are:
• To obtain maximum cost effectiveness of employing the human resources in
achieving the objectives of the organisation.
• To achieve the desired results of a certain task by deploying the right quality, and
quantity of human resources.

d) The role of the human resource management
The role of the human resources management is to recruit, to organise, and to equip the
human resources to do the work effectively in the allocated time schedule. And in the same
time also provide training and development, and facilitate for legal, ethical, safety and health,
and welfare of the workforce.
• Recruitment

Suitable workforce for the tasks should be recruited, therefore job description should be
defined well and appropriate searching and selection methods should be carried out.

• Organisation

Organisation should be well arranged to suit the characteristics of the activities. The
organisation structure should be as simple as appropriate and each function should be
well defined.

• Training and updating skills

The existing human resources should be continuously updated with the new skills and
knowledge so that they can cope with the development of new technology and
approaches. For this purpose training and updating skills programmes should be well
planned.

• Legal aspects

There are laws and regulations applied with regard to the human resources activities,
therefore sufficient information and supports should be provided concerning the legal
aspects.

• Safety, health and welfare

Human resources are the most valuable asset of the organisation therefore their safety,
health and welfare should be put as the first priority, reasonable facilities should be
provided in support for the safety, health and welfare of the human resources.







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8.3 POPULAR ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES
a) An organisation

The role of organisation can be regarded as management of people to meet the objectives.

Organisations adopt different management structures depending on the trend in the industry
and what they believe to be the most effective way for the operation. Some of the popular
type of organisation structures are as follows:


• Functional organisation structure
The functional structure is also known as hierarchical organisation structure, it groups
employees together based upon the functions of specific jobs within the organization.

















Advantages and disadvantages of the functional organisation structure are as follows:


No Advantages Disadvantages
1 Each unit focuses on its own work Skills and abilities of employees are
narrowed
2 Easier to solve problems Limited interaction between different
units
3 People tend to supervise each other Difficult to measure individuals
performance
4 Team work is more encouraged Coordination may take too long


• Divisional organisation structure

Also called a "product structure", the divisional structure groups each organizational function
into a division. Each division within a divisional structure contains all the necessary resources
and functions within it.

Figure 8.1 Functional organisation structure
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER
FINANCE
DIVISION
MARKETING
DIVISION
PRODUCTION
DIVISION
HR
DIVISION
R & D
DIVISION

Source: the Business Continuity Plan Generator


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Advantages and disadvantages of divisional organisation structure are as follows:


No Advantages Disadvantages
1 Clear focus on clients’ needs Duplication of functions
2 Positive competition between
divisions
Negative effects of competition
3 Better control Lack of central control


• Matrix organisation structure

A matrix organizational structure combines two types of organizational structures namely the
product organizational structure and the pure functional structure to create a unique blend of
work environment. This is most useful for when the assignments are project driven, because
several professionals with distinct functioning powers will be allocated to carry forth the
functions. Therefore in the matrix organizational structure, information sharing becomes very
important for effective and smooth functioning.

Figure 8.2 Divisional organisation structure
President
Division Z Division Y Division X
Purchasing Production Marketing
Purchasing
Purchasing
Production
Production
Marketing
Marketing
Finance Human resources
Source:Stevenclark.com

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Advantages and disadvantages of the matrix organisation structure are as follows:

No Advantages Disadvantages
1 Reduced bureaucracy Conflict over priorities
2 Better job satisfaction Duplication efforts
3 Stronger problem solving base Increase organisational complexity
4 Better retention of functional
specialists
Potential conflict of management
and project goals
5 Better solution of clients’ needs Not clear responsibilities







Figure 8.3 Matrix organisation structure
Source: Elianazapata.com

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b) Criteria for selection of organisational structure
In order to select the right organisation structure for a particular activity the suggestions are
as follows:
Functional Divisional Matrix
Technology Standard New Advanced
Internal
interdependency
Low High

Medium
External
Interdependency
High Low

Medium
Size Small Large Medium
Importance of
completion date
Low High Medium
Uncertainty Low High High
Duration Short Long Medium
Resource limitation Low Low

High

8.4 PRINCIPAL DUTIES OF HUMAN RESOURCES UNIT
To ensure that the organisation obtains the maximum benefit from its human resources it is
important to outline the principal duties of the human resources unit, which can be explained
as follows:
a) Recruitment
Recruitment is the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified people for a job at
an organisation.
The recruitment would pass through the following processes:
(1) Job analysis
Job analysis is to document the actual or intended requirement of the job to be performed,
then structure it as a job description as to provide the recruitment effort with the
boundaries and objectives of the search.
(2) Sourcing
Sourcing is a process of distributing information such as advertising through various
media, and recruiting research which is searching potential candidates for the job who
may not respond to the advertisement.


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(3) Screening and selection
Screening and selection is the process of selecting the most suitable candidates for the job
from the applications that have been received, this can be done through several of
methods.
(4) Onboarding
“On-boarding” is the process of helping new employees become productive members of
an organization by giving them opportunity for familiarisation to the new job and its
environment. It can take form of mentoring, coaching, and giving guidelines.
b) Training and updating skills
In order to cope with the development of new methods and technologies the human resources
unit should plan and provide training and updating skills programmes to the employees, so
that they can improve their knowledge, skills, and competencies.
Training and updating skills can take several of form depending on the type of job and the
competency it requires. Some examples are:
• Sending the employees to a specialised course
• Provide on-the-job training and off-the –job training
• Conducting in-house training

c) Industrial relation
Industrial relation is the relationships and interactions between employers and employees.
The industrial relations cover all aspects of the employment relationship, including human
resource (or personnel) management, employee relations, and union-management (or labour)
relations.
In the wider extent industrial relation is not only relationship and interaction between people
who run the organisation and people who work for the organisation, but there is also
government involvement in it. Government is responsible for protecting the rights of
individuals and for ensuring certain rights for organizations, and therefore there are laws that
regulate the roles of industrial relation.
d) Welfare
Welfare can be define as the range of services intended to meet people's needs, this include
payment of wages and the organisation of payroll including any pension scheme , provision
of safe working environment both physical as well as mental, health and spiritual needs,
personnel development etc.

In undertaking the welfare responsibility human resources unit has to ensure that there are
sufficient facilities provided in meeting the employees’ need such as: toilets, washing
facilities, rest and changing facilities, personal security arrangements and refreshment.




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e) Legal aspects

Legal aspects are the issues with regard to the relationship of human resources that are
regulated by local governments as well as international laws. These are mostly concerned
with the right and responsibility of both the organisation and the employees.
In order to handle the issues properly people in the human resources unit have to have
sufficient knowledge of the related laws and regulations, and at a certain extent provide
access for the workers to obtain sufficient information.
f) Communication
Communication is a two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which
participants not only exchange information but also create and share meaning. Therefore
communication requires that all parties have an area of communicative commonality.
In the context of human resources communication can be viewed as a means for bridging the
organisation and its employees in an open environment. Therefore, effective organizational
communication is critical to actively engage employees, foster trust and respect, and promote
productivity.

8.5 CONCLUDING REMARKS
a) Human resource is the individuals who comprise the workforce of an organization.

b) Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related
to human resources.

c) The objectives of the human resources management are:
• To obtain maximum cost effectiveness of employing the human resources in
achieving the objectives of the organisation.
• To achieve the desired results of a certain task by deploying the right quality, and
quantity of human resources.

d) The role of the human resources management is to recruit, to organise, and to equip the
human resources to do the work effectively in the allocated time schedule. And to care for
their welfare.

e) Some of the commonly known organisation structures include: functional, divisional, and
matrix organisation structure.

f) Principal duties of human resources unit are: recruitment, training and updating skills,
industrial relation, welfare, legal aspects, and communication.