Introduction In the current global market, human capital can be regarded as one of the most significant capitals for organizations, as well as the key factor of competitiveness. Firstly, emerged in industrialized countries, human resource management also has a long history of development and now grows into a more scientific and sophisticated phase. From the whole society’s perspective, human resource management is organizing and adjusting human capital with an overall strategy in order to promote the growth of the economy.
From the organization’s perspective, it refers to effective management of its employees so that people can fully realize their potential abilities and contribute to the organization’s prosperity. A lot of theoretical and empirical studies have been done in this area to evaluate existing techniques and to propose new ideas. In this paper, we first make a brief review of previous literature. Then we explain the status quo of today’s human resource management, which focus on characteristics, goals and methods, as well as some empirical researches in different countries.
Finally, we propose the trends and challenges for future human resource management.2. Brief literature review The human resources management has a history of nearly 100 years. During its development, both support and criticism exist (Ferris, et al.
, 2007). In the very beginning, human resource management was regarded just as tool to keep records (Dulebohn, et al., 1995 cited in Ferris, et al., 2007). In contemporary practices, it refers to a series of activities considering human capital within the company, such as recruitment and training of employees, measuring performance, salary management, etc.
and brings about a new focus on human relations.Human resource management is not simply a top-down process, it also accompanies with the bottom-up feedback. So hearing from various voices and then making relevant adjustment is one of the fundamental duties in human resource management. There are lots of literature showing that superior performance can be reached when HRM practices are “strong” (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004 cited in Buller & McEvoy, 2012). So studying theoretical techniques and solving practical problems in HRM can really assist in both the sophistication of researches and the development of organizations.3.
The status quo of human resource management 3.1New characteristics and orientation of HRM In the past, people used to think that human resource management is not directly involved in the process of creating values, so they attached little importance to the HR department. However, with the increasing value of talents, HR department participates more in strategic management of organizations and contributes more to operating goals. Besides traditional administrative affairs, main jobs of human resource management now consist of absorbing, retaining, motivating and developing high-potential staffs, which are based on mutual trust and commitment.Nowadays, people, especially those with skills and expertise, have more discretionary power than before.
Under that circumstance, organizations have to respect employees’ right to make choices and think from their views. Firms are no longer standing in the dominant place. Instead, they are expected to realize talents’ demands and fulfill them so as to obtain their loyalty and commitment. The center stage of today’s human resource management is transferred from bosses to workers. This people-oriented way takes employees’ demand and function as priority in the company’s operation.
Only when the needs of staffs are satisfied can it be possible to improve their innovation and efficiency, and furthermore contribute to the development of the company.Innovation is the core competitiveness for current organizations, not just in products and services, but also in management. Besides building a sound administrative structure, firms also depend on an innovative and sustainable management system to extend their market shares. Ways of competition among firms change from time to time. Core technology always plays an important role, but now human capital also stands in the top line of crucial factors.
Thus innovation in human resource bundles is emphasized in more and more organizations. Influenced by the economic globalization, human resource management tends to evolve into a globalized way. It could be seen in various aspects, such as the international perception of management, the extensive flow of talents and the fierce competition of labor markets.3.2Goals and methods of HRM The ultimate goal of human resource management is to promote the realization of the organization’s goal. So job objectives for everyone should be set not only to fully realize one’s personal value, but also in accord with the organizational objectives.
Once shared vision is established, it will be easier to cultivate good professional ethics and to realize the common development for both firms and employees, which is proved to be a win-win outcome.In practices, human resource bundles are designed to coordinate with strategic choices (Mitlacher, 2006), which requires HR managers to have long-term insight. Fact shows that leadership has great influence on HRM practices and management activities (Guest, 2011). There are many qualities that HR managers must own, and requirements for them are getting higher than before.
Firstly, they must have sufficient knowledge of employees’ ability, personality and probability of changes, especially of those high potential talents.Secondly, they must understand the art of dealing with people. Even though not in an arctic way, HR managers are expected to conduct human resource management in a skillful manner. Thirdly, they must have a good sense of judgment and can distinguish talents from mediocrities. Finally, since clients for HR managers are employees, they must implement the client-oriented business pattern and think from clients’ perspectives.
In other words, they should predict employees’ reaction before put any policy into effect.3.3Empirical studies in different countries It has been well recognized that HRM matters a lot to the firm performance (Ferris, et al., 2007). Here we outline some valuable empirical studies in different countries. The American and the Japanese HRM models are always considered as two opposite manners in HRM practices.
The American HRM model is featured in job- and result- oriented, where short-term performance and efficiency are emphasized, given their flexible market structures.However, the Japanese HRM model is featured in people- and behavior- oriented, where long-term behavior and growth are emphasized, given their cooperative clan structures (Pudelko, 2006). Compared with them, the European HRM model, especially the German one, is considered to be more balanced and moderate, which distinguishes itself in the way it is conceptualized, institutionalized and practiced (Brewster, et al., 2000 cited in Morley, 2004). As an important emerging market, China attracts more and more attentions today. HRM here has also transformed from the labor and personnel management to the modern human resource management, together with the economy transforming from the planned economic system to the open market economic system (Zhao & Du, 2012).
Haier Group and Lenovo could be seen as two successful examples of this transformation. In addition, specific industries’ analysis has also been done like HRM in temporary work agencies and in smaller firms. The results show that two basic strategies are recommended for temporary work agencies, namely cost-leadership and specialization (Mitlacher, 2006), and HRM models directly drawn from practices in large firms will not be productive in smaller firms, thus they are encouraged to adopt normative HRM within their structure (Marlow, 2006).4. Trends and challenges for future human resource management Trends for future human resource management could be concluded in the following four aspects. The first one is the increasing need for highly skilled people, together with more comprehensive training in order to improve the overall quality of staffs.
The second one is the human resource outsourcing. With that transition, traditional human resource departments will be more likely to act as a consultant. The third trend is management will turn more to high-tech methods, just like that in many other business branches. Last, but not the least, training and evaluating of employees will be oriented closer to the organization’s goal so that human resource bundles can contribute more to the prosperity of the organization.Rapid changes in economic conditions, social values and technologies bring about numerous challenges for human resource management. Economic globalization, improvement of technologies, evolution of organizations and changes of the population structure all needs human resource management to adjust itself timely and even to go ahead of the times.
Aside from these macro conditions, challenges within organizations also matter a lot.Personal development of employees, effective evaluation of job performance, work-life balance, career management, and many other HR responsibilities require higher expertise of HR managers. Only with continuous learning and practicing can HR operators keep up with the times and contribute more to the organization. And only when human capital is fully developed and used can the organization step into a brighter future.5.
Conclusion In today’s organizations, HRM department works as a vital part to the success of the business (Ferris, et al., 2007). In order to make full use of this management tool, both theoretical and empirical studies have been done in various ways. However, HRM is both an academic theory and a business practice, which needs the integration of academic studies and practices of managing a workforce.After summarizing several characteristics of current HRM, we analyze strategies and methods commonly used in HRM practices, as well as some specific examples in different countries, which proved HRM practices do lead to superior outcomes for organizations if they are appropriately used. Future trends and challenges faced HRM listed in the final part of this paper can remind organizations to adjust themselves with the times.
If they are fully aware of current circumstances and prepare themselves for the coming challenges, they will be bound to gain competitive advantages and to get sustainable development.
