Human Resources Management Essay

An individual can work hard due to various reasons which may be arising as a result of motivation in the organization. One factor that can make an individual to work hard is satisfaction received from the job he or she is doing and also from the organization (Pepitone, & Bruce, 1999, pp. 86). From the motivation theory of Douglas McGregor who came up with the theory Y and theory X, as he examined individual behaviors at work, he outlined several factors that can help us understand why people work hard in their work places. From the assumptions of theory X, we can say individuals work hard as result of how they are being controlled by the person in charge of them and also from the threats issued by their manager (Arab British Academy for Higher Education, 2010). The manager may issue threats and control to the individuals because the individuals according to this assumption dislike their work and thus in order for them to work hard the manager or supervisor has to do this as motivation to make the individuals to perform well and thus achieve the organizational goals. Another factor that makes individuals be directed to work hard according to this theory X assumptions is that, human beings on average like being directed and does not like responsibility (Arab British Academy for Higher Education, 2010) This can make the person responsible or in charge of the individuals to be involved in ensuring that individuals are being directed to work hard since on their own they can not be devoted to their work. Also the manager or supervisor can direct individuals since they are unambiguous so that he can make them to work hard in the organization. An individual may also work hard with the aim of achieving his goals and making sure that he has enabled security for his or her job. Motivation, which may not be in form of financial reward but any other reward that brings opportunity of satisfaction is another factor that may influence an individual to work hard. Still, one may be forced by circumstances to work hard due to the organizational principles which may be having a tough management and also may be full of punishment and even tight controls. On the other hand and according to the assumption of theory Y, an individual may work hard as a result of how he or she perceive his or her job since this assumption see work as just natural as rest or play (Fournies, 2000, pp 51). Furthermore, an individual can work hard if he or she is committed to the achievement of the organization and has an understanding that to be controlled or punished is not the only thing that can make him or her work hard. Job satisfaction can make one to commit himself or herself in the organization and work hard since he will be comfortable with his or her work In the current industrial life condition, intellectual potentialities are partially utilized for an average man so if a manager can be able to fully utilize this potentiality, then an individual can work much harder to achieve or improve performance of the organization (Fisher, 2000, pp. 101). An individual can work hard if there is no conflict in the job he or she is doing and even if there are no conflicting issues between him and the other employees in the organization. Being creative and imaginative can make an individual to be confident with the job one is doing and thus put more effort in his or her work. Hard and soft human resource management is two widely used models in recruiting new employees in many organizations. The two models have different views in accordance to the managerial control and human nature strategies. According to the motivational theory of McGregor which encompasses two assumptions which are theory X and theory Y, the hard model lays basis on strategic control which is tight and also view employees in the economic model as in theory X, where as the soft human resource management, their basis of control is through the commitment as in theory Y (Fournies, 2000, pp. 53). Differences in selection of employees in these two companies come as a result of the strategies of human resource which are different. The strategies of hard human resource include the organizational design, performance management, talent planning and resourcing and also the organizational development (Gill, 2001, pp, 61). In integrating the business strategy and human resource, the hard human resource strategies include techniques of management performance such as appraisal, organizational flexibility and also setting targets of work which they control them. On the hand soft human resource management involve themselves in training the employees and are much concerned on how employees perceive promotion opportunities and training. In this management approach the staff and management have good trust and communication between themselves. The strategies of soft human resource management include the employee relations, talent and learning development, recognition and reward and also employee engagement. The employee relation in soft human resource management includes the equality, diversity, safety and health. Recruitment of employees in organizations which have hard human resource management may be done in most cases as a contract since the organization does not have time to train new employees. Furthermore, the organization aim is to maximize on the potentiality of the employee and may dispose him or her if they find him unproductive so there is no need of recruiting new employees to be permanent unless he proves to be competent (Gold, & Bratton, 2001, 67). The soft human resource management on the other hand can recruit new employees with purpose of retaining them and train them to be fit in the organization for productivity of the organization. The soft human resource managers, since they are much concerned about the employees, they can recruit even persons who are not well trained and train them so that they can be comfortable in their work. A company which uses soft human management is more likely to recruit employees by retaining the existing employees incase of a promotion since the employees already in the organization are already trained and the valuable knowledge of the organizations operations (Gill, 1999, pp. 68). The company using hard human resource management is least likely to retain the existing employees since the employees may not be willing to stay long in the organization due to the strict rules and threats that exist in such organization. Soft human resource managers may be willing to retain existing employees as an incentive of motivating the other employees to work more harder since promotions are granted on the basis of work well done where as the company using hard human resource management does not do appraisal to employees as a result of their good results but they view it as the necessity of one to meet the set work target for the organization. The company using hard human resource management will recruit employees who are already competent even though it will mean getting employees from their competitors since they have no time to recruit an employee who will not be productive to the company even if is the first time he has started the job and also they have no time for training new employees (Gill, 1999, pp. 66) They are also more likely to have continuous replacement or recruitment of new employees since the existing employees can not stay long in an organization that does not motivate or recognize their efforts. The organizations, which use soft human resource management are more likely to retain employees and thus they do not need to continue recruiting new employees since the existing employees feel satisfied in their job as they are continuously motivated and there is chance of advancing in the same company and thus there is no need of leaving the organization for another one. Still, companies that use hard human resource management does not put in use the strategy of recruiting long term employees since they only need employees who can work in that organization so long as he or she is performing up to the time when he will be un productive (Gill, 1999, pp. 66). On the other hand, the companies who use the soft human resource management have to decide on the importance of recruiting new employees who can stay in the organization for long time since recruiting new employees is an expensive exercise and thus they see need of retaining new employees or recruiting employees with aim of retaining them in the organization.