Introduction
There are different characteristics that a manager must possess to be able to utilize the labor resources within an organization effectively and adequately. Generally, the manager must be able to utilize common sense, apply good management skills, be understanding and be buoyant (Duggan, 2010). Although it is possible for one to possess these management skills, there is usually a need for a person to undergo some training or some experiences in most cases to be able to develop them. Howeverit is very important for each manager to be at a position where they initially possess most of these traits of character to be able to overcome the biggest challenge within an organization-management of human resources (Campling, Poole, Wiesner & Schermerhorn, 2008).
This study seeks to identify the main focus of Human Resource Management (HRM) in the Children Medical Research Institute (CMRI) as well as providing a recommendation on any alternative ways of facing the issue of HRM in CMRI.
Factors that Help in Management of Human Resources
There are different factors that help in the process of HRM hence helping in full utilization of the human resources within an organization. These factors will be dealt with individually.
Good Leadership
First of all, good management skills call for good leadership skills. There is no one given time in which a manager may be able to conduct his duties effectively without the practice of good leadership. In fact, the initial stage of realizing if one is a good manager is through identifying if he/she possesses good leadership skills.
Therefore, a person must have a high level of good leadership skills and should also endeavor to keep upgrading himself in that aspect as need arises for one to be able to effectively manage the human resources within the organization. Through continuous learning and through experience, a manager is able to advance their management skills hence becoming better at his/her tasks (Campling, Poole, Wiesner & Schermerhorn, 2008).
Motivation
There are different reasons why employees engage in offering their skills and experiences in the workplace. Some of the reasons are results of positive motivation and include; just for obtaining a salary at the end of the day, due to the good cause of the organization in that the employee wishes to be a part of the organization so as to contribute to its good-will, for development of personal skills and experience in a given fields where the opportunity is being offered by the organization, so as to advance their creative and imaginative skills as well as being able to increase their ability to face their challenges more effectively as well as for the main reason of meeting and interacting with people (Maister, 2002).
On the other hand, there are those employees who have negative motivators that lead them to wish to engage in a given position at the workplace. Some of these reasons include a guilty conscious in which one feels that they owe their services, knowledge and skills to others. Thus, they have to undertake a duty at the workplace to be able to meet with this expectation. Also, lack of a capacity to get another job or fear of losing the current job may force an employee to stick to the job irrespectively. In addition, some employees are very egoistic and usually have the attitude that they have to stick in the company since it may not be able to operate effectively or achieve its objectives without them (Maister, 2002).
Managers need to be very careful to understand the motivations behind the employees to be able to manage effectively, utilize the human resources in the organization, and identify how well their objectives align with those of the organization (Maister, 2002). It is also important to know the reasons behind an employee seeking to work with the organization, why they choose to stay at their workplace and their attitudes towards their job. In this way, only the employees who offer their services in a manner that is consistent with the objectives and the interests of the organization are actually required to achieve the main objectives and goals of the organization (Lenchek, 2010).
In addition, it would be valueless for the manager to understand all these factors while they themselves do not understand their own issues. In a self-evaluation manner, managers need to check themselves also to understand their main motivation points and set them right before dealing with the rest of the employees because only motivated manager will easily be able to develop or obtain motivated employees (Holbeche, 2001).
Being Understanding
In every workplace, there are different factors that determine how well the employees work, their productivity as well as their satisfaction level. All these factors are very important for the organization to contain capable employees who help in fulfillment of its goals and objectives. One main factor that affects these issues is the emotional aspects of the employees. Since all employees are human beings, unlike other capital investments, they should be treated differently and with care to ensure that they are satisfied and happy to work in that organization. Consequently, they provide better results. It is hence paramount for the managers to ensure they do not focus so much on the productivity of the employees and increasing volumes for the organization in a manner that they forget to cater for the needs and emotions of these employees.
In fact, the main focus should be on personal development and addressing the issues of these employees to help the employee get loyal to the company and offer their services and skills in a beneficial and voluntary manner. Therefore, every manager needs to have a strategy that helps in understanding and addressing the emotional aspects of the employees. Thus, employees are able to feel that they belong in the company and hence trust, honesty and loyalty are built within the employee. The results of this are satisfied employees who are happy working at their positions and fulfilling the organizational goals of their company. In addition, the employees generate a positive attitude towards what they do hence being able to work better, a factor that helps in increasing the productivity and quality of work output from employees (Maister, 2002).
Through listening, interacting with each other and showing general interest in the personal lives and the emotions of the employees, managers will hence be able to operate the human resources within the organization and utilize their capacity in a profitable manner.
Accountability
In every organization, various employees perform their duties differently and in a manner that may not necessarily be consistent or satisfactory. Every employee once in a while gets into a situation that slows him/her down and makes him/her not fulfill his/her duties accordingly. Accountability comes in handy in such a situation since a good accountability structure always ensures that such an issue never goes unnoticed or unaddressed and that a solution is sought for in the given situation at the end of the day.
There is a need therefore for all the employees within the organization to have a person they are accountable to and who keeps a close watch over their performance and over how they operate and carry themselves. Thus, every employee feels that they have a duty to fulfill and that someone will check their performance and hence they work harder to fulfill their duties in a satisfactory manner.
Identifying Weaknesses at the Workplace
There are different factors which may result to poor performance of individual employees as well as the organization. Some of the factors may be personal within the organization or even external factors from outside the organization. These factors may include a lack of direction at the workplace, poor organization and management of the organization, lack of skills and experience in the employees, poor working conditions, lack of adherence to the rules and conditions at the workplace, lack of commitment from employees as well as effects of external and personal pressure on the employees (Acevedo, 2010).
The organization should always have a strategy that helps in identification of its weaknesses in order to deal with issues as they arise. There should be a way of evaluating weaknesses at the personal level for the employees where they have issues that they need to address individually at the supervisory level. The management needs to address its problems at that level. However, even at the organizational level, the organization has to re-strategize itself to address its general issues. The weaknesses within the company are easily identified and dealt with helping the organization in its course to achieve its organizational goals (Kearns, 2003).
Lack of Suitable Volunteers
There are moments that may appear when some of the employees within the organization may be deemed unsuitable for their jobs or for the organization, especially, due to lack of proper skills, knowledge and experience required of them to undertake their duties. The organization should always have a strategy of ensuring that it is able to filter potential employees at the initial uptake stage to have the best that it can get working for it (Holbeche, 2001).
In addition, sometimes it becomes a major necessity for employees to update and upgrade their skills and experience at their duties to address issues as required. In such a case, there is a need for an organization to provide the required training facilities and sessions to ensure that the employees are constantly under training ensuring they improve their skills and advance their knowledge and experience (Maister, 2002).
On the other side, there are moments when the organization needs to face the reality and lay off some of its employees as a need arises and when there is a clear indication that they are not adequate to work for it.
Lack of adequate organizational management
The organization may also be in a situation when it lacks proper organizational structures or a well-defined management guideline that shows how every employee operates and what is expected of him/her in the organization. Also, the manager may lack skills, competence or even motivation to perform his/her duties in the expected manner. All these factors may slow the company down and result to lack of achievement of organizational goals. In such a case, the organization should seek for a solution to make sure everyone performs his/her duties as they are expected and in extreme cases, the manager or some employees may be replaced to ensure that the organization runs smoothly as it is intended (Kearns, 2003).
Alternative Ways of Managing Human Resources
There are other different alternative ways in which the human resources may be managed effectively to ensure that they are productive within the organization and as well as being satisfied with what they do. Some of these alternatives include the HRM strategy that mainly focuses on personal development of the employee to ensure that the organization has only the best employees in a limited and manageable manner rather than having very many employees who do not provide the expected output (Kearns, 2003).
Also, the human resources may be managed through utilization of a strategy that seeks to understand and evaluate the individual output of the employee to determine if it is as it is expected. This strategy would have to focus that if an individual employee is able to fulfill designated duties, then, the overall performance of the company would be enhanced ensuring the company achieves its organizational goals.
Finally, another strategy which would be used though it is not preferable is also a hard reality in this IT generation, it obtains as many employees as possible. Then, utilizing technological advancements in the operations of the organization in such a way, a few employees would be able to manage the technology of the company to increase revenues for the organization. This focus concentrates on increasing volumes for the organization, but fails to consider the position of employees in the company (Kearns, 2003).
Conclusions
Human resources are the most important resources in any organization since they are involved in manipulation and mixing of the rest of the sources to help achieve intended results.
Through utilization of different strategies that seek to understand the employee, improve skills and experience as well as properly organize the company, an organization is able to operate in a required manner ensuring effective utilization of its human resources, their satisfaction and help to achieve organizational goals.
References
Acevedo, L. (2010). Signs of poor organizational structure. Web.
Campling, J., Poole, D., Wiesner, R. & Schermerhorn, R. (2008). Management (3rd Asia-Pacific ed.). Milton, Qld: John Wiley & Sons Australia. Web.
Duggan, T. (2010). How to handle poor organizational structure. Web.
Holbeche, L. (2001). Aligning human resources and business strategy. London: Butterworth-Heinemann. Web.
Kearns, P. (2003). HR strategy: business focused individually centered. London: Butterworth-Heinemann. Web.
Lenchek, C. (2010). Managing people and their work. Web.
Maister, D. (2002). Tips on managing people. Web.