Human Resources Essay

Total Length: 2514 words ( 8 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 3

Page 1 of 8

In this essay, we provide an overview of the topic of human resources.  This includes an overview of what human resources is, human resource responsibilities, human resources management, human resources training, and common human resources issues.  In addition to thoroughly examining the topic of human resources, the essay provides a great example of an academic essay.  It does so by providing all of the elements of a traditional academic essay, including: introduction, hook, thesis statement, a body with evidence and analysis of that evidence, a conclusion, and a reference section.  The essay also includes properly cited sources in an academic format.  You can use the essay as a template for an academic essay, as well as a primer on human resources. 

Related Topics

Employment Laws- There are a variety of different laws that impact employment in the United States.  From laws about hiring and recruitment regulations to laws governing hours, wages, and working conditions, knowledge of the laws is essential for human resource professionals as well as for employees.  This essay would explore some of the various laws that impact employment in the United States and whether those laws are applicable only under special circumstances or in all employment scenarios.  

The Outsourcing of Human Resources- What does it mean to have a career in human resources and are human resource professionals likely to have job stability.  With outsourcing in a lot of human resource areas, are human resource professionals an area that is likely to remain in-house or will the trend of outsourcing human resources continue.  Do outsourced human resource departments help or hurt businesses and employees?  This essay would explore the idea of outsourcing as it relates to human resources, whether that threatens human resource professionals, and whether it hurts or helps businesses.  

Training for Human Resources- Human resources professionals have to put on multiple different hats.  What type of specialized training goes into preparing someone for a career in human resources?  Should other employees have similar types of training to help reduce the likelihood of issues in the workplace? This essay will look at whether broad-based training would reduce the need for human resource professionals in the average workplace.  

Titles

An Overview of Human Resources

The Viability of Human Resources as a Career

How Human Resource Professionals Impact the Workplace

The Interaction Between Human Resources and the Law

Outline

I. Introduction

II. Body

A. What is human resources? 

B. Human resources responsibilities

C. Human resources management

D. Human resources training

E. Human resources issues

III. Conclusion 

Introduction

For most of the history of employment, employee satisfaction was not considered an important component of the job.  Instead, there were very few rules or laws governing how employees could be treated in the workplace.  Employees who were capable of providing high-quality, sought-after work, in competitive marketplaces were in a position to demand better treatment, but employees who could be easily replaced were often seen as disposable.  Employee efforts to seek better treatment through things like unionization, were not only opposed, but sometimes violently opposed by workers.  These problems began to be highlighted during industrialization, when employer abuses of employees in factories and sweatshops were rampant.  However, these atrocities led to an awareness that employers often mistreated their employees in ways that were simply intolerable.  These early workplace abuses led to the creation of laws governing employment.  Initially, these laws were very basic and offered only the most limited protections to workers.  For example, early labor laws governed the minimum age for employment, the maximum hours employees could work, and even began to establish minimum wages.  Employment law has evolved, so that employees have greater expectations and rights than they did in the past.  This evolving area of the law can be complex for employers, especially if the employer is a larger organization where managers or owners cannot have personal contact with all employees.  

The role of the human resources department is to act as a liaison between the employer and the employee.  Human resources ensures that a company is complying with all applicable state, local, and federal employment laws.  Human resources also ensures that employees are complying with company policies and helps formulate disciplinary plans for employees who are not complying with policies.
  In addition, human resources if responsible for administering employee benefit packages.  The goal of the human resources department is to attract and retain high-quality employees for their organization, while also ensuring that the department complies with all applicable rules and laws.  

Essay Hook

Because human resource professionals are responsible for handling all of the employees in an organization, they are uniquely suited to helping shape the culture and climate of that organization.      

Thesis Statement: 

Without well-trained and dedicated human resource professionals, it would be impossible for a company to develop its…

[…… parts of this paper are missing, click here to view the entire document ]

…to ensure that the company is complying with applicable state and federal rules and regulations for employment, from ensuring that wage and hour laws are respected to making sure that employees are free from workplace harassment.  

When an employee has done something wrong, the HR department is also responsible for handling that problem.  This could be for a wide variety of problems, and solutions may be relatively simple.  For example, an employee who is not meeting productivity goals may need to be retrained or transferred to a different job.  On the other hand, HRM would also be involved if an employee was accused of wrongdoing, such as sexual harassment of another employee.  In those scenarios, the company is legally obligated to take protective action for the victimized employee, but may have to follow specific steps to retrain and/or discipline an offending employee before termination.  If an employee commits a crime while at work, the HR department may also be responsible for initiating a criminal investigation and terminating an employee. 

Finally, HR professionals have to focus on employee satisfaction.  Employee satisfaction is a catch-all phrase that actually covers a tremendous variety of different behaviors.  HR specialists may help implement workplace programs or amenities, such as birthday celebrations, in-house daycare, or benefits linked to smoking cessation or weight loss.  Employee satisfaction also involves advocating for an employee when that employee alleges that the company or a coworker has violated any rules or laws.

Conclusion

Human Resource Management is an evolving field that has had a significant impact on the face of the American workforce.  More than simply ensuring compliance with laws dictating minimum acceptable standards for employers, HR specialists help create corporate cultures that are designed to attract and retain high-quality talent, with the goal of increasing both worker productivity and worker satisfaction.  This challenging field requires professionals who possess an understanding of business, as well as a keen understanding of human nature.  In addition to overviewing human resources, this essay also provided you with a pattern you can use, not just when writing your own essay about HR, but for writing any academic essay.  You can use it for an example of how to write an academic essay, how to include references in your paper, and how to write a works cited page.  If you have any additional questions about HRM or want help in writing your own custom essay, please….....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


Related Essays

Human Resources

Abstract A company’s most valuable asset is its people. Human resources refer to the people who comprise the organization. The practice of human resource management includes employee recruitment, hiring practices, employee development and retention, discipline, motivation, and to a degree, organizational culture and socialization. Human resource management also involves job or role definitions and clarifying hierarchies and relationships within an organizational structure. Ethical codes and codes of behavior may also be covered under the rubric of human resources management. Human resources departments often operate independently but in conjunction with other departments to create a cohesive strategy for management and… Continue Reading...

Human Resources Management in Nonprofit Organizations

effectiveness of the organization, the non-profit does use different employee management strategies and techniques. Human resources management strategies used in nonprofit firms often do mirror those used in their for-profit counterparts. For example, motivation, employee engagement, training and professional development are all major issues for human resources managers no matter what their sector. The literature on human resources management in non-profit organizations is extensive in general, but few studies have applied qualitative methods to assess the actual HRM practices used in nonprofits. Similarly, few studies have used qualitative methods to determine HRM and employee perceptions of employee training and development programs. Existing studies on… Continue Reading...

Human Resources Talent Management

1. I was first inspired to study the identification and development of high potential employees from the human resources management perspective, which is inherently a multidisciplinary approach. Although my dissertation project seems a long way away, now is a good time to dive into the body of evidence and theory surrounding this important issue. Understanding how to identify, motivate, and develop high potential employees is something that can add value to an organization and increase its overall productivity, effectiveness, and competitiveness in a dynamic market environment. My research has thus far introduced me to a number of different theories and approaches to studying this topic. For example,… Continue Reading...

Review of Human Resource Management

(IHRM) can be delineated as a set of activities purposed at the management of organizational human resources at the global level to attain organizational aims and accomplish competitive advantage over rivals at national and global levels. It encompasses characteristic human resource management functions like training and development, recruitment and selection, as well as performance appraisal undertaken at the global level. So as to closely incorporate company operations across the globe, multinational corporations try to cultivate and instigate standardized human resource management practices by transmitting the practices being undertaken at the headquarters to subsidiaries situated overseas. Consequently, practices at the organization's subsidiary will have a close… Continue Reading...

Todays Strategic Human Resource Management

context of these different functions to deliver a coherent human resources strategy that meets the needs of the organization. That means not just hiring people, but setting out a full slate of HRM policies that allow those people to be at their most productive, and make the greatest contribution possible to the strategic mission of the organization (SHRM.org, 2016). Key Functional Areas There are several key functional areas in which human resource managers work. There are five key functional areas that have been identified.: Staffing, development, total rewards, employee relations, and safety. The following section will take a look… Continue Reading...

Apple's Human Resources Strategy

pace of growth places strain on the talent within the company. The human resources department has to keep a rapid pace of hiring, ensuring all the while that it is bringing in the right people to support the mission going forward. Just as important, the new hires have to blend in with the existing organizational culture. This can be a significant challenge when the growth comes as rapidly as it did for Apple in the 2000s. The company's growth trajectory started with an established culture under Steve Jobs, the introduction of the iPod, and then the introduction of the iPhone started Apple… Continue Reading...

Training Transfer and Human Resources Theory

ascertain the most appropriate training and development programs for their employees. In fact, theory-based information helps human resources managers to structure training and development for specific groups of people. The most relevant theories include those that are related to learning, and those that are related to social relations and identity construction. Learning theories can be based on basic behaviorism, including patterns of reward and punishment that can be used to motivate specific behaviors and discourage undesirable behaviors that detract from inter-group harmony (Duggan, n.d.). However, cognitive theories of learning can be even more helpful for structuring effective employee training programs designed to cultivate specific skills or… Continue Reading...

The Best Approach to Human Resources

HR Shared Services When it comes to the craft and practice of human resources, one of the unmistakable trends that is emerging and changing the face and shape of the work field is the use of a "shared services" framework. Something that is common and inherent to these shared services frameworks is a passionate mission and vision behind the department and how precisely their iteration of human resources will be used to assist and empower the organization via the effective utilization of human resources practices and procedures. This may come off as navel-gazing and self-aggrandizing corporate speak to many people. However, there… Continue Reading...

Philips Academy Andover Human Resources Plan

HR Plan: Philips Academy Andover Introduction The Human Resources (HR) department of any organization is the spine of the entity. This is where the integrity of the company needs to reside, and where the team members can be protected from potential abuses of power. Abuses of power are more common than most people care to admit, and are one of the reasons that HR was born in the first place. As history has demonstrated without a doubt, where there are human beings there will always be abuses of power, as power as the tendency to corrupt others.… Continue Reading...

Human Capital Management Using Benefits and Compensation

costs that a company can incur in its Human Resources department. Therefore, in order to eliminate this cost, it is vital that the company works towards retaining its talent. However, it is not possible to eliminate this cost completely since there are employees who would still feel the need to leave no matter what is offered in terms of compensation or benefits. In such cases, it is best for the company to understand that employees leave a company for diverse reasons and the employer only needs to ensure that they are not leaving because they are not satisfied… Continue Reading...

Why Elon Musk Must Go

Human Resources and Change: Major Responsibilities of HRM The three major roles of human resources management (HRM) are (1) administrative, (2) operational, and (3) strategic. The functions that fall within these roles include: recruiting and selecting hires, orientation, maintaining stable and quality workplace environments, managing employee relations, and training and developing staff. This paper will show how the HRM of the company Tesla, Inc., including the manufacturing, finance, and marketing subsystems are in need of change. By comparing these subsystems to other successful subsystems, this paper will indicate that Tesla… Continue Reading...

IBM Supply Chain Concerns

Executive Summary This document considers the various points of correlation between human resources, management information systems, and supply chain management in relation to critical IBM concepts of managing an organization. It identifies how these three areas intersect and their long term value for organizations as a whole. Ultimately, they are vital aspects of operations in the contemporary business world. Introduction There are a number of eminent facets involved in the management of contemporary organizations. Encompassing a wide range of characteristics, the most notable of these pertain to information technology, resource allocation, and varying elements of procurement. Effecting competitive advantage today no… Continue Reading...

Multinational Companies

Harzing, 2003). One of the major complexities MNCs face relate to human resource management (HRM). Indeed, managing human resources in the international context can be a daunting task. This is particularly because of considerable cultural, institutional, economic, and political differences across countries (Thite, Wilkinson and Shah, 2012). National (country-of-origin) characteristics tend to influence how MNCs behave in the host country. They influence not only corporate strategy, but also the kind of HRM practices MNCs adopt in the host country (Sethi and Elango, 1999; Yu, Park and Cho, 2007; Cox, 2014; Chung and Furusawa, 2015). For their subsidiaries or overseas operations, MNCs often have to choose between home-country… Continue Reading...

Recruitment Plan and Staffing Plan at Amazon

impacting salary negotiations. Therefore, social media should not be relied on as an initial recruitment tool. Recruiting Plan A human resources manager’s recruitment strategy begins with needs assessment; recruiting is about first determining what the organization needs in order to thrive in that department and then to fulfill those needs with human resources (Caran, Barton & Carey, 2015). Recruiting strategies vary considerably depending on the position could involve culling top talent from competitors; in the case of a warehouse manager, recruitment efforts will not necessarily require aggressive strategies because the warehouse manager role and duties are not highly specialized enough to warrant such means (Mathlin & Jarvinen, 2018). Core… Continue Reading...

Diversity Socialisation for Newcomers

Diversity Socialisation for Newcomers Head of Human Resources XYZ Investment Limited Dear Sir, Re: Diversity Socialisation for Newcomers The significance of organisational socialisation cannot be overemphasised. Through the process, new employees are equipped with the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours necessary for successful organisational membership (Cable, Gino & Staats, 2013). In most cases, however, the process of socialisation focuses on aspects such as the goals of the organisation, individual role and responsibilities, behavioural patterns, as well as rules and principles pertaining to the organisation. Often, there is little or no attention to workplace diversity issues (Mcmillan-Capehart, 2005;… Continue Reading...

Solving Amazons Turnover Problem

maintaining high performance levels, the company will not be able to implement change. The head of human resources has to therefore make a personal appeal to the CEO to champion the plan. If the CEO buys in, then as per Amazon's culture the rest of the company will fall into line. Changing the CEO's mind might require a coalition that includes a number of other senior executives, not just HR but operations and finance as well, who represent other major stakeholders. Finance is actually quite important because the change has to be framed as being in the best interests of the shareholders in order to truly… Continue Reading...

Hiring Practices and Ethical Legal

Abstract Human resources managers are increasingly called upon to contribute to ethical decision making in their hiring practices. Hiring policies and practices are a critical gateway to fulfilling organizational ethical commitments. Using standard screening methods like background checks or screening applicant social media accounts present ethical dilemmas, pitting the need for due diligence against the need to resist any form of discrimination in hiring. By engaging in hiring policies and practices that reflect legal ground rules and also ethical codes, human resources managers achieve critical security goals and also protect the… Continue Reading...

How Diversity Functions in the Organization

determinant, less standardized and therefore more fluid." Thus, there are different views of diversity from which human resources organization can draw from. The social organization perspective doubtless arose as the result of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which specifically barred discrimination of specific peoples on the basis of social organization, essentially compelling organization to become less visually homogenous. The literature basically backfilled the argument that adding… Continue Reading...

Factors Affecting Employee Retention in an Organization

organization, retention, company, work, absenteeism, work-related stress, working environment, human resources, personnel management. Conclusion The focus of this research is to examine factors that contribute to increased employee turnover and high levels of absenteeism and work-related stress in an organization. Based on the findings of the data analysis, employee retention in the organization is affected by several factors including organizational culture, gender roles in the company, and family conflict. While the study was conducted on a group of participants from diverse backgrounds and demographics, organizational culture has a major impact on employee retention in the workplace. Organizational culture affects… Continue Reading...

Chrysler Case Workplace Harassment Hostile Work Environment

hostility in the workplace, while also encouraging human resources to play a more active role in weeding out problematic employees during the hiring process and when considering leadership development strategies. Punitive measures may not always be successful at uprooting hostile behaviors, given that many of the problematic behaviors are deeply embedded in social and cultural norms. Furthermore, many of the persons implicated in cases like that of Otto May are themselves in positions of power—managers and leaders who view themselves as being above reproach because of their title and status in the company. Therefore, senior managers always… Continue Reading...

sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Human Resources" (2019, May 21) Retrieved May 2, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/human-resources-2173056

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Human Resources" 21 May 2019. Web.2 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/human-resources-2173056>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Human Resources", 21 May 2019, Accessed.2 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/human-resources-2173056