Trends in Human Resource Management
Teaming across organizational boundaries appears to be a hallmark of companies in
transformation. In fact, a number of companies these days have eliminated many of the
traditional organizational boundaries entirely. Project teams instead of traditional managers
organize work, and workers are even able to join teams based on their competencies and
interest. These are just some of the changes being made as the United States quickly
transforms from an industrial society to a service society. Instead of the boss being the
CEO the boss is now becoming the customer. As our company structures change thus does
the roles of our Humane Resource departments. In the following paragraphs we will
discuss some of these changes as they pertain to globalization, technology, diversity,
e-business and ethics.
Globalization
In today highly aggressive global market companies are finding it necessary to expand
internationally to gain competitive advantage. To meet these challenges, U.S. businesses
must develop global markets, keep up with competition from overseas, hire from an
international labor pool, and prepare employees for global assignments (Trends page 46).
Many of the United States most successful global competitors do this by operating on the
belief that people are the company most important asset. Placing this value on employees
requires the companies to emphasize human resource practices, including reward for
superior performance, measures of employee satisfaction, careful selection of employees,
promotion from within, and investment in employee development (Trends 46). Technology
is another important factor in globalization. The Internet and improved, more reliable
telephone service is making it possible for companies to hire cheaper labor for things like
telemarketing, computer help desk and even sales. For example, Dell computer hires
contractors from India to take purchase calls for their phone and Internet computer sales.
One very important thing for companies thinking of breaching the global barrier is that to
operate in other countries, its HR practices must take into consideration differences in
culture and business practices in other countries.
Technology
Advances in computer-related technology have had a major impact on the use of
information for managing human resources (Trends 49). The Internet has made it possible
for HR personal to place job postings, review resumes, and provide training online.
Monster andCareerbuilder.com to name just a couple of the Internet based recruiters have
made it possible for people from all over the world to apply for jobs at an infinite number
of companies. This gives companies a broader choice of applicants making it easier to pick
