CONTEMPORARY ISSUES OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The responsibility of human resource management has changed due to the concept of
globalization, fast technological & industrial advancement and due to the change in
entrepreneur’s anticipations. Today's managers face some contemporary HR issues. These
issues includes downsizing, labor force diversity, sexual Harassment (annoyance), Balance In
Work Life & Family Life, controlling HR costs, labor unions and management cooperation,
employee violence, workplace spirituality, lay-off survivor sickness.

Expertise in organizing worldwide workforce is becoming one of the rising human

resources contemporary issues. A proper global HR management strategy is necessary to put
together employee’s movement and emigrant workers. But a lot of organizations are yet
unaware about the significance of all these. The continual exercise of job description is being
condemned. It is no more applicable with the changing business environment. The jobs which
are previously considered for male are now competing by female employees. Now it is very
difficult to fire or discharge to poor performing workers. The employees can also have right to
file suits against dismiss. Organizations have frequent concern with orientation & training for
the employees to teach them the advance technologies. But it is not the only concern for
organizations; it has become a state issue for countries. But the implementation of human
resource management activities has been question mark as being anti-union and manipulative.

DOWNSIZING
When an organization has too many employees that cost the firm high and firm lost its
profits. It becomes difficult for the firm to manage this workforce. Then firm reduce its cost by
firing those excess workers and improve its profits. This is all done by the management decision
and this planned firing of the employees is called downsizing. Some firms organize severance
packages for the employees who are downsized.

LABOR FORCE DIVERSITY

Diversity in term of gender, society, color, religion, nationality, age and other
characteristics that are a sign of difference is called labor force diversity.

Labor force diversity will affect the fundamental concerns of human resource
management including hiring, staffing, selecting, and orientation and training. Managers
require broadening their network to improvement labor force multiplicity. Companies need
optimistic practices with a hard of hearing worker led to hire new hard of hearing workers
through employee’s recommendation. But most of the organizations are not able to do this due
to cost effective.

So the managers need to search the job candidate in new area or place where they
might not have seemed, because every one has a talent which needs to be explored. Firm must
be made to make sure that the selection procedure does not differentiate if diverse candidates
exist. Organization’s culture should be made comfortable for the candidates. But the applicants
also need to be aware of management’s desires that what the management want from them.
Various firms offer workshops particularly to raise diversity awareness issue. Any change in the
organization’s rules and policies is frequently made more difficult for minorities. Some
organizations are aggressively pursuing diversity efforts. They recruited older workers because
of the experience, skills and attitudes they bring to the workplace.

BALANCE IN WORK LIFE & FAMILY LIFE

Firms need to be made ensue that there is balance employee’s work life and family life
because the employees can not leave their families. There are following kinds of issues of work-
family life balance come up that affect and employee's job performance;

In an emergency crisis with normal child-care preparations can any employee bring his
child to the workplace?

Is employee should anticipate to overwork for 12 hours or more a day?

To watch a child performance in a school occasion can an employee be given the day off
or half day?

Employee should be given relaxation to give the attention to their family or children.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Sexual nature action by any employee or employer in the job place to threat someone
that affects the individual’s life and create a worry for him. These types of activities are openly
or absolutely affect the person’s life, job or service, job surroundings. Member of the opposite
sex or of the same sex may be involved in this type of activities.

Sexual harassment creates threatening, aggressive or unpleasant job surroundings.

Public and private sector firms both are facing this serious issue. It is creating many problems
for the organizations and workers that cost the firms high. Mostly female employees hesitate to
work with the men. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EECO), a commission made
to deal with this kind of issues. During 2005 more than 12,600 complaints were filed and the
majority of complaints are filed by the females.

CONTROLLING HR COSTS
Another issue where the organizations are looking to control HR costs. Mostly firms are
providing different incentives and benefits to their employees to raise their moral and make
them committed with their work. These incentives and benefits raise the company's cost. For
example; health care cost, wellness programs, employee pension plan etc.

LABOR UNIONS AND MANAGEMENT COOPERATION

In past, it was a basic concept that there is always disagreement or conflict lies between
labor unions and management. Both were treating each other as the opposition and work
against the interest of each others.

Now time has been revolutionized to some extent as the management accepted it is
essentially necessitate the employee participation and commitment to raise output, improve
better quality standards, minimize the cost, and to gain the maximum profits. In the same way,
labor unions have also accepted that the collaboration between the management & unions can
help the employee more. Conflicts should be resolved, because it only creates the problems for
both and as a result the firms have to bear the heavy losses.

EMPLOYEE VIOLENCE
Today every organization is facing the problem of employee violence. This problem is
become visible as to be worse. The factors which are contributing to the employee violence are
family problems and dissatisfaction of the employees. Companies have to find a way to stop
this issue.
WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY
Workplace spirituality is about be familiar with employees private life that promoting
and is promoted by significant work that takes place in the circumstance of an organizations
society. Ethics, moral values, motivations, and work-life balance and leadership element of an
organization has bring the concept of spirituality. Historically models of management had no
concept of spirituality.

LAY-OFF SURVIVOR SICKNESS

A set of different thoughts, views, attitudes and manners of employees who endure
spontaneous workforce decline or downsizing is called Lay-off survivor sickness.

Efforts, and disinclination for doing something ahead of the requisite minimum are
condense by the warning signs take in employment uncertainty, insight of injustice, blame,
hopelessness, pressure from increased workload, fear of transform, defeating faithfulness and
obligation. To keep moral and productivity high a number of firms used downsizing as the tools
to execute amplified worker contribution plan like empowerment and self managed work
teams. But still it is an issue facing by the human resource management.