IRP 800 – Human Resource Management

Assignment Title

Human resources is made up of how many areas of knowledge. Identify these areas and highlight the
issues therein.

Submitted To:

Dr. Obisi

Department of Business Administration

University of Lagos

Submitted By:

Tolulope Olusakin

Matric No: 169029034

MBA Year 1(Part Time) Stream 2

November 7th, 2017

Introduction

There are different schools of thought on the Knowledge areas in Human Resources Management with

each school coming up with various numbers of knowledge area that its followers are expected to know.

According to The Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI), there are six categories of knowledge

areas that are essential for expertise in Human Resources Management. The knowledge areas are Strategic

Management, Workforce Planning and Employment, Human Resource Development, Compensation

and Benefits, Employee and Labor Relations, Occupational Health, Safety and Security.

Furthermore, the Hong Kong Institute of Management defined the scope and depth of the core

knowledge areas that an HR practitioner should acquire. The knowledge areas are Six namely: Business

Knowledge for HR, Employee Engagement, Employment Law, Learning and Development, Reward

Management, Sourcing and Staffing. This Body of Knowledge embraces a broad spectrum of the

knowledge required to carry out HR management and HR development functions which, in themselves,

can be a specialised area.

This paper harmonises the positions of the two institutes and present a broad body of knowledge in

Human resources management which comprises of six (6) knowledge areas namely: 1. Strategic Business

Management for Human Resources, 2. Employee Engagement, 3. Employment Law, 4. Human

Resource Development, 5. Reward Management, 6. Workforce Planning and Employment.

1. Strategic Business Management for Human Resources

Today, HR people are expected to become the "Business Partner" to their business leaders which is quite

different from their sole functional role in the past. HR professionals have to take up the role of diagnosing
the organization by analysing the problem with reference to the organisation internally and the external

environment. Based on the "symptoms", they provide information and solutions to the management for

further action.

In other words, HR people need to initiate and implement human resource related strategies which align

with the business objectives and can respond to the changing priorities. They must work closely with the

business leaders steering the strategies and the implementation. Not surprisingly, HR professionals are

required to be more business-focused to help driving the success of the organisation.

HR professionals are expected to provide strategic business management advice to the management which

will include i) Evaluating HR’s contributions to organizational effectiveness. Ii) Formulating HR

objectives, practices, and policies to meet the short- and long-range organizational needs and

opportunities, iii) Guiding and leading the change process.

To proffer strategic business management solutions, here are the key areas which a HR professional must

pay special attention to:

 Business knowledge of HR

 Global / environment perspective

 Business perspective

 Organisational perspective

 Individual perspective

 Employer branding

 Role of HR in business

 Major HR process
2. Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is a property of the relationship between an organization and its employees. An

"engaged employee" is one who is fully absorbed by and enthusiastic about their work and so takes positive

action to further the organization's reputation and interests.

With the engaged workforce, organisation can benefit from higher productivity and outstanding

performance as employees are more willing to offer their discretionary effort at work. An organization

with 'high' employee engagement might therefore be expected to outperform those with 'low' employee

engagement, all else being equal.

Employee engagement is an on-going process which certain proactive measures have to be taken

throughout the whole HR cycle, including the stages in recruitment, orientation, training and recognition.

It is concerned with the emotional connection that employees have with their work and their organization.

It involves maintaining effective relationships and working conditions that balance the employer’s needs

with the employees’ rights in support of the organization’s strategic objectives. Other areas in relation to

employee relations and engagement include occupational health and safety, corporate wellness and

handling industrial relations / unions. Below provides an overall picture on the relevant issues which every

HR professional should be aware of.

1. Employee relations and employee engagement

a. Employee relations

b. Employee relations programme – objective and effectiveness

c. Staff communication

d. Induction and orientation

e. Staff consultation and participation

f. Coaching and counselling

g. Disciplinary action

h. Grievance handling
 i. Employee Engagement

2. Industrial relations and unions

a. Practicing legislation

b. Managing relationships with unions

c. Corporate wellness

d. Employee wellness and work-life balance

e. Employee health and safety and environmental considerations

f. Health and safety

g. Occupational Safety and Health Regulations

h. Fire Safety Provision and Occupational Safety & Health Regulation

3. Employment Law

Employment laws concerns with the legal relationship between employers and employees. Legal issues

revolve around hiring and firing, sexual harassment, workplace discrimination, workplace health and

safety, and the rewards to employees are all related to employment laws.

HR professionals must display solid understanding on various employment-related legislations and need

to apply the relevant knowledge to the specific situations appropriately. By ensuring the organisation

complying with the legal requirements about the employment, HR professionals help protect the

organisation against damaging claims. Simultaneously, the risk of conflicts between the organisation and

employees are minimised.

Basically, the Employment Ordinance provides the framework for a comprehensive code of employment.

It covers various aspects including set up and termination of employment contract, wages, leaves, sickness

and maternity. To be lawful and effective HR practitioner, it is essential to acquire the knowledge on the

following areas including:

 Basic legal knowledge in Nigeria

  Employment legislation

 Employees’ Compensation Scheme (NSITF)

 Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance

 Mandatory Pension scheme

 Upcoming / proposed legislation

4. Human Resource Development

Learning and development is a critical factor for people at all levels of the organisation and the

organisation to grow and develop, particularly under the complex and fast changing environment.

HR Practitioners need to have the knowledge of putting in place structures that will ensure that the skills,

knowledge, abilities, and performance of the workforce meet current and future organizational and

individual needs. This will involve Developing, implementing, and evaluating programs and activities that

address employee training and development, change and performance management, and the unique

needs of employee groups.

Employees' capability and adaptability is one of the key pillars to support the organisation to keep up its

competitiveness and improve the performance. In connection to this, it is necessary for the organisation

to link up the learning and development management with its business needs and human resource

planning.

To foster the learning culture in an organisation, employees should be provided with different learning

opportunities to motivate them for continuous learning and further development. Most importantly, the

organisation should be balancing the organisational training requirements with individual needs.

 Learning and development in the organisation

 Linking learning and development management with business needs

 Linking learning and development planning with HR planning

 Assessing needs, learning design and learning methodologies

  Training delivery and facilitation

 Post-training evaluation and sustaining effectiveness

 Organisation development

 Building a learning organisation

5. Reward Management

The concept of reward management does not simply refer to the payroll function. It covers the

formulation and implementation of the strategies as well as the practice of pay system. It involves

analyzing, developing, implementing, administering, and performing ongoing evaluation of a total

compensation and benefits system for all employee groups consistent with human resource management

goals.

Reward, of which can be in terms of monetary or non-monetary, is the key factor to attract or retain talents

and to motivate employees to become good performers. Undoubtedly, positive recognition for people

facilitates better morale and performance among employees, which in return leads to high productivity

for the organisation.

An equitable, market-based and cost-effective reward management system should be developed to

acknowledge an individual or team with accomplishments. A structured reward management system helps

building a high-performance culture for an organisation where its employees are linked up to work

together towards the business goals and objectives. Apart from establishing a reward management system

with justice, it is also essential for the organisation or employers to maintain clear and close

communication with employees on the reward policies. In general, "Reward Management" covers various

aspects including:

 Total Reward

 Job analysis and job evaluation

  Base pay

 Pay for performance

 Benefits

 Mergers & acquisitions

 Payroll administration

 International reward management

 Reward communication

 Performance management

6. Workforce Planning and Employment

Getting the right people for the right position at the right time in an organisation is not a simple, easy task.

By identifying, attracting and matching the best talents to the positions where they can bring the potential

into full play, the organisation maximises its productivity and gains the edge in the business.

Sourcing and staffing is not a one-off process to fulfil the current needs. Instead, starting from the

workforce planning, it is a significant process for the organisation to manage and balance its resource in

response to the changing needs as well as the short and long-term organisation’s strategies. In practice, it

has crucial influence on the success of the day-to-day functioning of the organisation.

Nowadays, sourcing and staffing activities are not the only responsibilities of HR professionals. Most often,

they must partner with the line managers who are increasingly involved in the process. Every step including

analysing the job, specifying the job description, attracting and selecting the applicants, making the

appointment and induction is critical for hiring the right person. Hence, to avoid wasting the resources

for recruitment, HR people should have a clear understanding on the issues.

 Human resource planning

 Manpower planning
 Succession planning

 Sourcing and staffing

 Options of sourcing and staffing

 Outsourcing, insourcing and labour supply

 Recruitment

 Selection

 Employment

 Engagement

 International resourcing
References

Crim, Dan and Gerard H. Seijts (2006). "What Engages Employees the Most or, The Ten C’s of
Employee Engagement". Ivey Business Journal. Retrieved on the internet
http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com on 3rd November, 2017

HR Certification Institute (2014): Body of Knowledge- Retrieved from the internet

http://www.wgu.edu/wgu/hr_body_knowledge_pop

HR Focus Areas & Emerging Issues. Retrieved on the internet on 3rd of November, 2017 http://ipma-
hr.org/hr-resources/hr-focus-areas-emerging-issues