Pros And Cons Of Delegating Human Resources Management Essay

Pros And Cons Of Delegating Human Resources Management Essay A line manager is responsible for an employee or a work group who do not have any managerial responsibility. Some of the daily duties that a line manager undertakes are people management, dealing with customers/clients, monitoring work process, measuring operational performance, organising allocation and rotas and monitoring absenteeism. Although line managers play a vital role in bridging the top level management and the lower hierarchical staff on a daily basis, it is seen that most of the line managers, however, may not have formal management education because he/she is generally promoted from within. Due to the daily and frequent contacts between the line managers and the staff to whom he/she is responsible, it has been a more common practice to see the line managers undertaking several human resources responsibilities including recruiting and selection of employee the function otherwise used to be exclusively of the human resource department in the past. This is widely practiced lately mainly because of the fact that the line managers have a better understanding of the job that needs to be carried out in order to match the corporate strategy and operations strategy of the organisation. With the prevailing frequent communication between the line managers and the employees, it also contributes towards increased morale in the employees ensuring a higher productivity and competency of the employees and enhanced focus on customers. Since most of the line managers do not have formal management education, they might not be fully reliant on the managerial tasks that they perform and hence they have drawback in their undertaking of human resources tasks although they have added value to the human resources professionals by allowing them to invest their time on more strategic issues. Pros and Cons of Delegating Human Resources roles to Line Managers Cons Increased speed of decision making Line management responsibility for people issues Local management accountability Potential cost savings Strategic role for central HR/IR Short lines of communication Lack of time to perform HR duties Increase in line managers workload Additional costs of training managers Increase in grievances/tribunal cases Potential for HR/IR to be marginalized People management not considered to be part of the line managers job Pros: Increased speed of decision making: Line management responsibility for people issues Local management accountability Potential cost savings Strategic role for central HR Short lines of communication B. Cons: Lack of time to perform Human Resources duties Increase in line managers workload Additional cost of training line managers Increase in grievance/tribunal case Potential for HR to be marginalised People management not considered to be line managers job The people and performance research carried out for the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) by a team at Bath University (Hutchinson, 2003) found that the line managers played a vital role in terms of implementing and enacting HR policies and practices. They found that where employees feel positive about their relationship with their line managers they are more likely to have higher levels of job satisfaction, commitment and loyalty which are associated with higher levels of performance or discretionary behaviour. Discretionary behaviour is defined as that which goes beyond the requirement of the job to give extra performance which can boost the bottom line. Line managers also play the strongest part in structuring peoples actual experience of doing a job. According to an online survey of 121 organisations, collectively employing almost a quarter of a million people, shows that four in five (80.2%) organisations have devolved responsibilities such as managing flexible working requests and handling grievance and disciplinary procedures to line managers over the past few years. And two in three predict the role of line managers will take on even more HR functions over the next few years. (Williams, 2008) Also, another interesting finding was that the line managers claimed to be satisfied with the HR responsibilities that have been devolved to them and are keen to take on activities that relate explicitly to the development of their team. Most line managers report working closely with their HR counterparts and see the configuration moving towards a partnership. The line managers main concern is that a lack of support from HR during the delivery of the service can detract from the overall effectiveness. They also note that junior level line managers are likely to feel less supported by HR and comment that it is merely their high level position that drives the HR-line partnership in their situations. (Susan Whittaker, 2003). The role of line managers in both public and private organisations has changed quite significantly in recent years. The line managers have been allocated more responsibilities and are accountable not only for budgeting and allocating of resources, but most importantly for people management issues as per Hoogenboorn Brewster (1992.). According to some sources such as Storey (1992: 190), he argues that line managers may well be playing a far more central role in labour management than HR personnel. Whereas another source, Hales (2005) traces the greater involvement of line managers in HR issues to two developments. He argues that the line managers have been taking on the role of a coach , conductor or a leader of a highly motivated team as a result of the spread of Human Resource Management and the adoption of more participative forms of management concerned with securing high performance through commitment rather than control. Human Resource Devolvement has led to line managers acquiring middle management functions and becoming mini-general managers accompanied by the loss of supervisory functions downwards to work teams. It is hence more appropriate for line managers to take responsibility for people development since they operate alongside the people they manage and therefore it is argued that that their reactions are more immediate and appropriate (Whittaker and Marchington, 2003). Initial research indicates some positive support for line manager HR involvement. Hutchinson and Purcell (2003) found that line manager involvement in coaching, guidance and communication positively influences organisational performance. Likewise, a case study of line manager involvement in HR in the NHS by Currie and Proctor (2001) found that line managers are important contributors to strategic change when provided with discretion in implementing HR strategies within their own work groups. Whittaker and Marchington (2003) maintain that line managers increasingly welcome HR responsibilities and are prepared to take them on as they add variation and challenge to their work. Gibb (2003) argues that requiring line managers to be more involved in the HR issues may also lead to a transformation of managers own attitudes towards HR, organisational change and thus a transformation of human relations at work (Gibb, 2003). By increasing line manager involvement in HR, it is argued that better workplace conditions will result as line managers have better understanding than specialists of the type and range of interventions needed. In this pursuit, line managers are assisted by more effective and user-friendly human resource information systems, new technologies and Human Resource call centres, making it possible for line managers to handle some HR work without the assistance of Human Resource Department. It is seen that a speedy resolution of conflicts and lower rate of employee turnover is possible by moving Human Resources responsibilities closer to employees through line managers. Indeed, providing greater authority to line managers and encouraging greater initiative taking may address a long-standing criticism levelled at HR departments; namely a lack of appreciation of the immediacy of the line managers problems (Harris, L, Doughty, D. Kirk, S. (2002). According to Maxwell and Watson (2006), business partnerships between HR specialists and line managers have emerged as the dominant model for Human Resources operations within organisations. Similarly, Ulrich (2005) outlines the role of HR Strategic Partners as working alongside line managers to help them reach their goals by crafting strategies to maximise productivity through alignment of corporate resources to these goals. We can hence understand that devolving HR responsibilities to line managers offers a number of benefits to organisations. A greater freedom to HR specialists to engage with strategic issues is provided enabling them to forge closer relationships with line managers and a partnership model towards managing employees is developed. Similarly, line managers understand and appreciate the complex nature of dealing with the employee issues and become more encouraged and involved in everyday workplace management tasks. However, line managers have pointed various issues concerning HR involvement despite the above mentioned benefits of participating in HR activities. It will obviously increase their workload by getting involved in HR tasks. Increased workload leads to feelings of incompetence among line managers and reluctance to take responsibility for devolved HR activities. Indeed, this has led to feelings amongst some line managers of being dumped upon (Renwick 2003: 265) or pushed upon to take new HR responsibilities (Harris, L, Doughty, D. Kirk, S. (2002):) due to a climate of fear and mistrust driven by HR. The experience and ability of line managers to take responsibility for HR issues may present a major barrier to devolvement. Both Whittaker and Marchington (2003) and Hailey, V.H., Farndale, E. Truss, C. (2005) suggest that line managers skills and competence in HR practices may be limited and a lack of training in this area will undoubtedly affect a line managers overall effectiveness. I ncapability and misunderstanding of HR practices on the part of line managers will prevent the organisation from developing a strong learning culture (McCracken and Wallace, 2000) with McGovern et al. (1997) arguing that a lack of training may lead to inconsistencies in implementing organisational HR policies potentially exposing the organisation to lawsuits and employment tribunals. Their research though, indicates that management development is not a priority for the top management and reliance on the notion of trial-and-error is prevalent in organisations. Furthermore, the failure of organisations to take a long-term developmental view is exposed by a reluctance to set aside a specific budget for training and the belief that management development is the individuals responsibility. Many line managers get under pressure to meet operational targets, and often struggle to fulfil their people management duties. This is partly because they are not equipped with the tools, skills and knowledge they need to be effective. As a result, managers sometimes effectively abdicate responsibility for aspects of people management. A commonly used phrase is thats HRs job often tends to be heard a lot in many companies whether relating to employee development, managing an individuals performance or dealing with absenteeism issues. Recent research involving nearly 3,000 employers by the Work Foundation and the Institute for Employment Studies found that organisations with a comprehensive, structured approach to people management, covering areas such as recruitment, development plans and employee appraisals, perform better than those without, as indicated by higher profits per employee, higher profit margins and ultimately higher productivity. Sometimes its easy to be critical of managers, but often theyre not properly equipped to be effective. Investment in management training requires clearly set-down policies and procedures. There appears to be lack of clear guidance and easily accessible information, its not surprising that many line managers response when an issue arises is either to pick up the phone to HR or to ignore the problem and hope it would goes away or transfer responsibility to someone else. It is interesting but to be fair to line managers, sometimes part of the problem may also lie with the HR department itself. For all the talk about wanting to devolve more responsibility to the line, in practice HR professionals are sometimes reluctant to trust line managers to manage. They are unwilling to give managers the tools and information they need to do the job effectively: after all, knowledge is power, and by being the gatekeepers of all information relating to employees, policies and processes, HR may feel that it has power. This is clearly not in the long-term interests of the HR function. HR teams must realise that if they are to fulfil their potential and be true partners to the business, then they need to trust their managers with the day-today stuff. This doesnt mean being unsupportive but continued support to line managers to assist them with responsibility for the way that people are managed. It does mean defining strategies and policies and then putting in place the frameworks and the systems that enable managers to take accountability for the day-to-day execution but in a controlled, informed and effective way. Line managers must aim to be more accountable whereas HR professionals being more strategic could assist when working together. Better solutions are needed to support key people management processes and its likely that intelligent use of technology is likely to represent at least part of the answer. Technology-based services offer organisations the potential to give much greater support to their line managers, but in a highly cost-effective way. Line managers can be given tools to walk them through common processes, access to comprehensive information about their employees, guidance on how to manage effectively, and prompts when tasks or actions are due all accessed via a single web-based service. In view of the above, making line managers responsible for the delivery of HR can be complex. Line managers may not possess the required skills needed to implement HR initiatives and may feel ill-equipped or insufficiently trained to accept responsibility for day-to-day HR tasks. Devolving HR responsibilities may also represent a lack of appreciation of the workloads, time pressures and overall priorities of line managers threatening the overall standards of HR delivery across the organisation and diminishing the value of HR. It is found that getting line managers involved in HR tasks is a step towards achieving a more strategic, value-added approach to managing employees. Line managers play an important position in the organisational hierarchy and can directly affect the quality of front-line services. It will greatly increase the existing pressures of excess workload and the need to deliver on short-term priorities by devolving line managers with HR responsibilities. It will also mean the requirement of display of a higher level of HR competency by the line managers which calls for the need for high-quality training programmes for line managers to ensure that they feel confident in discharging their new HR responsibilities. Such training may help organisations avoid costly litigation and damage to their public reputation. Therefore, HR professionals must engage with line managers and develop a partnership to bring about a speedier resolution to workplace conflicts by allowing line managers to seek guidance and advice whenever required thereby making line managers more responsible for HR.

Examine the Reasons Why Some Sociologists Choose Not to Use Experiments When Conducting Research

Examine the reasons why some sociologists choose not to use experiments when conducting research One of the main reasons why many sociologists choose not to use laboratory experiments for research is one of impracticality; the absolute control of conditions required for a lab experiment is nigh impossible to achieve in fields of sociology, as that level of control over variables would require a completely artificial environment which would require an inordinate amount of money and resources to construct effectively.If an experiment took place in an environment less controlled than this, then even identification of all the relevant variables would be ridiculously difficult, and manipulation of variables to study a behavioural reaction completely impossible. Even assuming that it is possible to create a controlled environment for sociological experiments, there are still many practical issues with experimental methods.Firstly there is no possible way for experiments to research past so cial trends, which immediately reduces the range of data available to a sociologist, for instance it would be impossible to try and find changes in society through experimental methods unless a sociologist replicated exactly a social experiment conducted in the past to compare the data.Secondly, again assuming a laboratory environment has been constructed for sociology, this could only be used to study a limited sample and therefore would not create very reliable data, and so would not be easily generalisable, which then appears to defeat the point of using a laboratory experiment.Finally it is argued that the artificial environment of an experiment would provoke the â€Å"Hawthorne Effect†, in which a person with knowledge of their observation modifies their behaviour, in an attempt to second guess what the observer expects or wants them to do, which would not give very valid data and also, as only some people would succumb to this effect, would also not give very reliable d ata. An apparent solution to this would be observing people without their knowledge, however this causes a lot of ethical issues; a general principle of sociological research is that a person must give their informed consent to be studied.Informed consent can be difficult to obtain with certain groups, for example children, as this would also require their parent or guardian to give consent, making obtaining data even more difficult and time consuming. Misleading people as to the nature of the research is therefore also considered wrong, as it violates the principle of informed consent. Finally, social theory and perspective means that interpretevist sociologists will not regard experiments as valid. A laboratory approach is possibly the most scientific of all sociological research methods, and therefore the one that interpretevists would argue to be the least valid.A key element of interpretevist theory is that human behaviour is not a simple matter of cause and effect, as humans h ave a wide variety of emotions, moral values and choices, and therefore attempting to use a small sample to generalise about society is not possible, as every person is different and will react differently to circumstances. As interpretevists are fundamentally concerned with validity of research, their ideal research methods will take place in the actual areas and situations in which people reside, as opposed to an attempt to reconstruct these with a far more limited range of variables.

The Difference Between Fellowships and Scholarships

You may have heard other students talk about applying for a scholarship or a fellowship and wondered what the difference is between the two. Scholarships and fellowships are forms of financial aid, but they arent exactly the same thing. In this article, well explore the difference between fellowships and scholarships so that you can learn what each type of aid means for you. Scholarships Defined A scholarship is a type of funding that can be applied to educational costs, such as tuition, books, fees, etc. Scholarships are also known as grants or financial aid. There are many different types of scholarships. Some are awarded based on financial need, while others are awarded based on merit. You can also receive scholarships from random drawings, membership in a particular organization, or through a contest (such as an essay competition). A scholarship is a desirable form of financial aid because it does not have to be paid back like a student loan. The amounts awarded to a student through a scholarship could be as little as $100 or as high as $120,000 on up. Some scholarships are renewable, which means that you can use the scholarship to pay for your first year of undergraduate school and then renew it in your second year, third year, and fourth year. Scholarships are available for undergraduate and graduate level study, but scholarships are typically more plentiful for undergraduate students. Scholarship Example The National Merit Scholarship is an example of a well-known, longstanding scholarship for students seeking an undergraduate degree. Each year, the National Merit Scholarship Program awards scholarships worth $2,500 each to thousands of high school students who achieve exceptionally high scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Each $2,500 scholarship is issued through a single one-time payment, meaning the scholarship cannot be renewed each year. Another example of a scholarship is the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to high school students with financial need and a record of academic achievement. Scholarship winners receive up to $40,000 per year to put towards tuition, living expenses, books, and required fees. This scholarship can be renewed each year for up to four years, making the entire award worth up to $120,000. Fellowships Defined Like a scholarship, a fellowship is also a type of grant that can be applied to educational costs such as tuition, books, fees, etc. It does not need to be paid back like a student loan.  These awards are usually geared toward students who are earning a masters degree or doctorate degree. Although many fellowships include a tuition stipend, some of them are designed to fund a research project. Fellowships are sometimes available for pre-baccalaureate research projects but are more commonly available to graduate-level students who are performing some form of post-baccalaureate research. Service commitments, such as a commitment to complete a particular project, teach other students, or participate in an internship, may be required as part of the fellowship. These service commitments may be required for a specific period of time, such as six months, one year, or two years. Some fellowships are renewable. Unlike scholarships, fellowships are not usually need-based. They are also rarely awarded at random to contest winners. Fellowships are typically merit-based, which means you must demonstrate some form of achievement in your chosen field, or at the very least, demonstrate potential to achieve or do something impressive in your field. Fellowship Example The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans is a fellowship program for immigrants and children of immigrants who are earning a graduate degree in the United States. The fellowship covers 50 percent of tuition and includes a $25,000 stipend. Thirty fellowships are awarded each year. This fellowship program is merit-based, meaning that applicants must be able to demonstrate a commitment to, or at least a capacity for, accomplishment and contributions  in their field of study. Another example of a fellowship is the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE NNSA SSGF). This fellowship program is for students who are seeking a Ph.D. in science and engineering fields. Fellows receive full tuition for their chosen program, a $36,000 yearly stipend, and an annual $1,000 academic allowance. They must participate in a fellowship conference in the summer and a 12-week  research practicum  at one of DOEs national defense laboratories. This fellowship can be renewed annually for up to four years. Applying for Scholarships and Fellowships Most scholarship and fellowship programs have an application deadline, which means that you must apply by a certain date to be eligible. These deadlines vary by program. However, you typically apply for a scholarship or fellowship the year before you need it or in the same year that you need it. Some scholarship and fellowship programs also have additional eligibility requirements. For example, you may need a GPA of at least 3.0 to apply or you may be required to be a member of a particular organization or demographic to be eligible for the award. No matter what the program requirements are, it is important to follow all of the rules when submitting your application to increase your chances of success. It is also important to remember that many scholarship and fellowship competitions are competitive—there are a lot of people who want free money for school—so you should always take your time to put your best foot forward and submit an application that you can be proud of. For example, if you have to submit an essay as part of the application process, make sure that the essay reflects your best work. Tax Implications of Fellowships and Scholarships There are tax implications that you should be aware of when accepting a fellowship or scholarship in the United States. The amounts that you receive may be tax-free or you may be required to report them as taxable income. A fellowship or scholarship is tax-free if you will be using the money you receive to pay for required tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment for courses at an academic institution where youre a candidate for a degree. The academic institution you are attending must conduct regular educational activities and have a faculty, curriculum, and body of students. In other words, it has to be a real school. A fellowship or scholarship is considered taxable income and must be reported as part of your gross income if the money you receive is used to pay for incidental expenses not required by the courses you need to take to earn your degree. Examples of incidental expenses include travel or commuting expenses, room and board, and optional equipment (i.e., materials that are not required to complete the necessary courses). A fellowship or scholarship is also considered taxable income if the money you receive serves as a payment for research, teaching, or other services that you must perform in order to receive the scholarship or fellowship. For example, if you are given a fellowship as payment for your teaching one or more courses at the school, the fellowship is considered income and must be claimed as income.

Ethical Case Study Of The Case Of James A 25 Years Old...

Ethical Case Study Analysis Paper In the case study of James a 25 years old Caucasian male intern counseling student, who is interning with the college counseling center at a local university, James have nine months left upon graduation; he admits to having no clinical experience and no experience working with diversity groups. During James internship arrival he recognized a familiar face that was identified as his ex-friend who he has not seen in years and she is the clinical supervisor for the internship site (Argosy, 2015). Ethical dilemmas presented in the case study In this scenario the ethical dilemmas took place when James suggest to his clinical supervisor to put her credential as a licensed professional counselor after his name since she is supervising him. James feels comfortable with this idea because he will be a graduate within nine months from now. James and the clinical supervisor violated ACA code of ethics C.4.a. Accurate Representation, this code of ethics states counselors supposed to claim only professional qualifications actually completed. James is misrepresenting his qualifications because he claims to be a licensed professional counselor rather than an internship student counselor (Argosy, 2015) (ACA, 2014). The clinical supervisor violated ACA code of ethics F.4. Supervisor Responsibilities F.4.c. Standards for Supervisees it’s the supervisor responsibilities to make their supervisees or trainees aware of the practice professional andShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesOrganizational Behavior Comprehensive Cases Indexes Glindex 637 663 616 623 Contents Preface xxii 1 1 Introduction What Is Organizational Behavior? 3 The Importance of Interpersonal Skills 4 What Managers Do 5 Management Functions 6 †¢ Management Roles 6 †¢ Management Skills 8 †¢ Effective versus Successful Managerial Activities 8 †¢ A Review of the Manager’s Job 9 Enter Organizational Behavior 10 Complementing Intuition with Systematic Study 11 Disciplines That Contribute toRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesmymanagementlab is an online assessment and preparation solution for courses in Principles of Management, Human Resources, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior that helps you actively study and prepare material for class. Chapter-by-chapter activities, including built-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY