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Human Resource Management

Name of Student

Name of the Department, University

Name of course

Name of Instructor

Due Date
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Human Resource Management

The Company

     Al Jazeera English is a news agency whose headquarters are in Doha, Qatar. Partly funded by

the Qatari government, the global news giant is a subsidiary of the Al Jazeera Media Network. 

The vision of the company is, “To be fearless in the pursuit of truth and to be the voice for the

voiceless” (Al Jazeera Media Network, 2020). Their mission is, “To inform and empower people

with accurate, in-depth and compelling content that upholds the value of truth and elevates the

human spirit.” One of the most critical employees of the network is the Debriefing Human

Resource Psychologist, who attends to the organizational and individual psychological needs of

the journalists, camerawomen, and men, and all those who go to dangerous extents to get the

news. 

Debriefing Human Resource Psychologist

     A debriefing human resource psychologist (DHRP) is the individual who hives psychological

support to the employees of the media network, especially by debriefing them after they leave

dangerous or otherwise traumatizing new situations. It is also their responsibility to give the go-

ahead before a journalist, and their supporting staff can be allowed to cover a new traumatizing

new item sometime after finalizing another. The DHRP contributes to the mission and vision of

the company in different ways in this position. 

     By giving therapeutic services to the members of the fifth estate, the DHRP contributes to the

vision of the organization by ensuring that they continue to be fearless voices who are

psychologically fit to be the truthful voice for the vulnerable. Journalists can only achieve such if

they are not traumatized and fearful because of past experiences, and with the reassurance that

they are part of life-changing work. The in-house psychologist must ensure that they are
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perpetually in this mind-state, and to propose for medical attention when the reporters are

mentally unfit to cover the next story. 

     The DHRP also empowers the journalists to be more informative, which is their primary

mandate. Additionally, they encourage the reporters to persist in finding in-depth ad compelling

narratives despite placing themselves in danger. The psychologist is also responsible for ensuring

the reporters are enthusiastic about the viewers they seek to inform. The role of the human

resource psychologist in Al Jazeera Media Network is to ensure that the “journalists report on

complex and difficult topics such as natural disasters, political violence, and human suffering”

while worrying about their job security, do not have to endure excessive pressure alone (Reichel,

2019). 

     The psychological professional must have many personal and professional goals every year.

Three primary annual goals for the individual in that position could be as follows:

     To debrief all journalists and green-light them for the next story within 21 days. Within

three weeks of completing a traumatizing feature, the journalists should be in a mental state that

is healthy enough for them to start on the next story. 

     To record all debriefing sessions and upload one thousand hours of meetings in the

year. With one thousand hours of feedback, the DHRP can study trends and know how to

improve in delivering their mandate.

     To have nil cases of exposure to trauma in a way that compromises journalistic

abilities. The DHRP must ensure that they attend to the journalists who are in the frontline of

physically and psychologically compromising situations in a way that will enable each one to be

able to continue in the same line of work in the next year. 

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     The frequency of performance feedback in this position must be once or twice each year. That

would amount to input from the human resource manager after the independent psychological

analysis of journalists by other medical professionals. The rate of performance feedback is low

because the impacts and results of the work the human resource psychologist can hardly be

appreciated in the short term. Psychological wellness is best considered after months. If the

journalists seem to be doing well after four to six months, the mental healthcare professional in

the staffing department is deemed to be getting positive outcomes. 

     In this profession, where the psychologist is susceptible to the flaw of viewing employees

naively, “subject to rather simple laws of behavior and with no capacity for independent thought

or action,” there must be self-appraisal (Troth & Guest, 2020, p. 38). Therefore, it is practical to

expect a 360-degree appraisal for the psychologist. There are usually only a few peers who can

give feedback since there is only one or a maximum of two human resource psychologists, but

individuals from other departments can contribute. The feedback from the subordinates and co-

workers is necessary since the psychologist deals directly with them, influencing their ability to

execute their jobs.

Conclusion

     In conclusion, the debriefing human resource psychologist at Al Jazeera is a unique position

that offers support to other employees while setting goals that are associated with their ability to

do their jobs. The job post is subject to self-appraisal and 360-degree appraisal to be effective.

Because the psychologist deals with the staff members at a human resource capacity, he or she is

the best person to determine the effectiveness of journalists. However, the people who they deal

with must also give feedback about their services, since if the psychologist has no positive
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impact, the journalists and other workers will be unable to perform. Therefore the vision and

mission of Al Jazeera will not be achieved. 

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References

Reichel, C. (2019, July 30). How journalists’ jobs affect their mental health: A research

roundup. Journalist’s Resource. https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/news-

media/job-tress-journalists-health-research/

Troth, C. A. & Guest, D. E. (2020). The case for psychology in human resource management

research. Human Resource Management Journal, 30, 34–48.

https://doi.org/10.1111/1748‐8583.12237

What we stand for. (2020). Al Jazeera Media Network. https://network.aljazeera.net/about-

us/our-values