HR Management Essay Questions and Proposals

Proposal for Enhanced Productivity and Efficient Employee Utilization

“In the last years, there has not been a lot of focus on productivity. We see a slow change at the horizon. Traditionally, capacity problems have been solved by recruiting new people. … You need to hire less people, and [use the potential of the employees better].”

Write a short proposal as to how your organisation could hire fewer people and use them better. Include a discussion of how this would align with your organisation’s overall business strategy, or a strategic objective, and conclude with a critical discussion of any ethical issues that may be at stake. In particular, you will need to deal with the likely criticism that this is a recipe for overwork, exploitation and burnout.

“The Tayloristic organisation, where everybody has a clearly defined and assigned job, often does not work so well. Especially when the assignments are not so clearly defined, more flexibility is required. The jobs become more flexible, and employees get the opportunity to craft their own job, to make the best fit with their wishes, needs and capabilities.”

Critically analyse the extent to which your organisation is – or is not – Tayloristic in the sense used by Haak. Present your analysis as the first part of a report you will send to a senior HR colleague for feedback.

In the second part of this report determine how your organisation could create a more flexible environment that gives staff more “opportunity to craft their own job, to make the best fit with their wishes, needs and capabilities” (Haak, 2017). Include any strategic benefits – especially those specific to your organisation’s strategic goals – that could accrue from creating a more flexible environment.

“In line with the trend called ‘the consumerisation of HR’ employees are expected to take more initiative, being tired of waiting for the organisation and HR, and wanting to be more independent of organisational initiatives…. Many teams primarily use communication tools such as WhatsApp and Slack, avoiding the officially approved communication channels. HR might go with the flow, and tap on to the channels used, instead of trying to promote standardised and approved channels.”

Critically assess the extent to which teams in your organisation are avoiding “officially approved communication channels”, and the problems, advantages and ethical issues arising from this. Recommend to your HR department how it could tap into the trend in alignment with the organisation’s pursuit of its strategic goals, as well as how to define boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable use of unofficial channels.

“The number of jobs in HR services will decrease as the level of automation increases.

Example: the sourcing work many recruiters were doing is rapidly being taken over by intelligent machines. HR advisors/assistants/business partners will become less necessary…. Top HR professionals will [nevertheless] be needed in HR services, and on a high level HR architects can (and should) play an important role in the transformation of organisations.”

Research and critically report on the extent to which HR services in your organisation are automated. Then describe how the level of automated HR services could be improved. Conclude with a critical assessment, specific to your organisation’s strategic goals, of thepros and cons of HR service automation, including dimensions expected of HR practitioners such as emotional and spiritual intelligence, and ethics. (For example, would intelligent machines be able to make ethical choices?)

“On a high level HR architects can (and should) play an important role in the transformation of organisations.”

Write a job description for an “HR architect” for your organisation. The description should stress this architect’s role in helping the organisation achieve its strategic goals.