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In this paper, the author will describe the changing role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in response to trends in globalization, technology, diversity, e-business, and ethics. . “Changes in the population, in technology, in employees’ expectations, and other aspects of the business environment place heavy demands on modern HR professionals???and anyone else involved in management (The McGraw-Hill Companies). ” The roles and responsibilities of human resource management have changed significantly in the past decade. Many of these changes have been in response to trends in globalization, technology, diversity, e-business and ethics.
The impact of technology and ethics are not new to organizations or human resource managers. Globalization, diversity and e-business are terms that were not even considered until this past decade. Trends in Globalization The first impact on the changing role of HRM is globalization. Companies are finding that to survive they must compete in international markets as well as fend off foreign competitors’ attempts to gain ground in the United States Globalization is creating significant challenges for the human resources professional.
Significantly, human resources departments need to develop new procedures and processes to adapt to the rapid shift of organizations towards globalization. The top challenges HR faces in the globalization process include: ??? Coordination of activities in many different locations. ??? Understanding the continual change of the globally competitive environment. ??? Building a global awareness in all HR departments/divisions. ??? Creating a multicultural HR team Technology Technology impacts every aspect of how we as human beings perform our work. Technology is a tool that allows us to leverage our abilities to perform at a higher level of output.
Certainly technology has replaced the need for workers in some instances. However, economics suggests that if one worker is displaced by a more efficient process, that same worker can be redistributed for greater usefulness elsewhere in the economy. Technology does create a series of challenges for the human resources professional. Diversity With a consistently changing workforce the diversity rate is growing both ethnically and racially. The U. S. labor force states “the 2006 workforce will be 72 percent white (and non-Hispanic), 11 percent black, 12 percent Hispanic, and 5 percent Asian and other minorities.
The fastest-growing of these categories are “Asian and other” and Hispanics because these groups are experiencing immigration and birthrates above the national average (The McGraw-Hill Companies). ” E-Business Peoplesoft is a valuable tool for the workplace. It can be used for many different areas of corporations. It combines human resources, marketing, purchasing, and other areas. It has many benefits in the workplace. Once employees are trained it will be a valuable asset for all. “One of the more popular Enterprise applications is PeopleSoft.
There are others like SAP, Oracle and Microsoft. These companies are known for their Enterprise Resource Planning applications and eBusiness applications. What is Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP? ERP is a “business management system that integrates all facets of the business, including planning, manufacturing, sales and marketing. As the ERP methodology has become more popular, software applications have emerged to help business managers implement ERP in business activities such as inventory control, order tracking, customer service, finance and human resources. Ethics Ethics by definition is a set of rules or standards that govern the conduct of a person or members of a group. Ethics involves learning what is right or wrong, and doing the right thing. Ethics and Human Resources Ethics commonly refer to the rules or principles that define right and wrong conduct Concern over this perceived decline in ethical standards is being addressed by organizations, and companies are relying on Human Resource (HR) to build an ethical culture.
Human Resource departments are creating codes of ethics, introducing ethics training programs and hiring ethics officers. The objective of the ethics statement is to ensure that the highest standards of ethical behavior is practiced while conducting business and ultimately acting in the best interest the company. A large part of a Human Resource professional’s role is to be strategic business partners.