Final Paper/Reflection

MG 250: Human Resources Management (Fall 2022)

Blanca Raventós Riera

Professor Melinda Berry

The difficulty facing managers today is how to transform their companies into high

performance work systems. To do this, managers need to find the ideal mix of personnel,

organizational culture, and technology. Let me expand on that, the main elements when

considering establishing high-performance work systems are organizational structure, task

design, people (employee selection, training, and development), reward systems, and

information systems are all key components that must operate together, and human resource

management is crucial to their establishment.

A company's organizational structure -the way its employees are arranged into practical

divisions, departments, and reporting relationships- in a high-performance work system

should encourage collaboration, learning, and continual improvement. It is true that ABC's

organizational structure is embodied in an organizational chart, however, positions such as

the center directors and early childhood educators remain unfilled in many sites and must be

shared across two sites although centers are located 2-5 miles from each other. In addition,

in some sections, there are also a lot of open positions for childcare assistants. These

workforce shortages cause poor learning and collaboration while also stressing out workers

at other places. In my opinion, ABC's top management must make some decisions regarding

the structure, on the one hand in regard to hiring more center directors and early childhood

educators so that there is one of them per site to reduce stress on them, and on the other hand

in regard to increase collaboration and improvement across sections since there are 22

different sections that must collaborate and share problems and solutions with one another.
Regarding people, employee selection, training, and development are crucial components

of a high-performance work system when it comes to the individuals involved. Human

Resources Management plays a big part in hiring people who are qualified for and well-

prepared for their tasks when it comes to employee selection. During ABC's qualitative and

quantitative assessment, I have been able to know that people services department have

appallingly inadequate resources. There are just two talent acquisition specialists, one HRBP

(HR business partner), one director of employee relations, and one benefits assistant.

Therefore, I would advise ABC Company to employ highly trained individuals for their

Human Resources team since it is the cornerstone for locating the greatest skilled workers.

(Chapter 10) The ability to do one's current and future jobs with the company is ensured

through training, development programs and career management, after the best

personnel have been employed. “Training typically focuses on assisting people in performing

their existing duties more effectively1". Only approximately 40% of the pre-pandemic ABC

workforce returned, more than half of ABC employees are new hires, and 20% of them have

no prior experience in child day care services. The above pointed out on the one hand the

necessity of ongoing training since it is an investment in the organization's human resources

and raises the worth of its employees. Resources for individual training are crucial, but

employees are also urged to teach their fellow workers although it is difficult to get training

to become less about teaching skills and more on creating and sharing knowledge.

On the other hand, the above highlighted the need for development programs. Development

is future oriented and implies a “learning that is not necessarily related to the employee's

1
Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Wright, P. and Gerhart, B., (2020) Fundamentals of Human Resource Management.
Eighth Edition. Chapter 10. McGraw Hill education.
current job2”. Instead, it improves individuals' ability to move into positions that may not yet

exist and prepares them for other tasks or positions within the firm. Employee development

may also aid in preparing them for adjustments to the duties and demands of their current

positions, such as those brought about by new technologies, organizational structures, or

customers. The plan to create an ABC learning management system (hence referred to as a

"LMS") that had previously been discussed by the previous owner was dropped with the

change in ABC leadership in 2021. The LMS's primary objective is to offer ABC employees

training and professional development. In my opinion, the new ABC owner, who is

unfamiliar with the human services industry, should try to establish an LMS to supplement

conventional face-to-face developing programs in order to keep employees up to date with

new technological advancements, client, or job designs changes.

Finally, given that 50% of new hires, particularly part-time employees, leave the company

within three months, I must emphasize the significance of career management, which means

investing in employees or assisting them in choosing learning opportunities that will help

them achieve their career goals despite the knowledge that many of them will pursue a career

path to another organization but may return later, with an even more valuable set of skills.

Let me elaborate on that, if ABC invests resources and is concerned with furthering their

employees’ career, giving value to the employee's professional experience, and investing in

their career would encourage employees to stay with the firm. As a result, turnover will

decrease, and ABC will become more profitable.

2
Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Wright, P. and Gerhart, B., (2020) Fundamentals of Human Resource Management.
Eighth Edition. Chapter 10. McGraw Hill education.
(Chapter 14) Regarding reward systems, -those performance measures by which employees

are judged and the incentive pay and other rewards linked to success- they contribute to high

performance by encouraging people to strive for objectives that support the organization's

overall goals. Through qualitative and quantitative evaluation, I was able to learn that there

is no total rewards approach, but the new owner wants to use one to make rewards as

objective as feasible. The wages and benefits that the company provides its employees were

one of the four areas of opportunity indicated by certain employee surveys conducted by

ABC. Additionally, a significant issue raised by the teaching assistants and childcare

assistants is that their pay is just above the national average, and they can’t afford to pay their

bills. In the light of all the above, benefits, which perform similar roles to pay, are another

option to reward employees as part of the total compensation received, even if wages and

salaries play a crucial role. “The organization's goals, its budget, and the expectations of the

organization's current employees and those it wishes to recruit in the future”3 should all be

taken into consideration when choosing employee benefits. Controlling the cost of health

insurance coverage and employee retention are two fundamental organizational goals across

all businesses, including ABC. Therefore, ABC might offer their employees benefits like

wellness programs and health plans to reduce costs while also improving retention through

defined-contribution retirement plans and flexible work schedules, the latter being a workers'

complaint about the company.

3
Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Wright, P. and Gerhart, B., (2020) Fundamentals of Human Resource Management.
Eighth Edition. Chapter 14. McGraw Hill education.
 Part Two: Research how to transform one HR functional area to reflect DEI principles
and priorities

DEI principles and priorities are “those actions taken by an organization to prioritize building

a diverse workforce and creating a work environment that is equitable and inclusive for

everyone”4. When considering talent acquisition among the different functional areas of

Human Resources, there are some practices and emerging trends that consider DEI

principles and priorities and that are being used by companies to foster a diverse and

inclusive workforce. “DEI is part of the recruitment journey and should be present in every

candidate touchpoint and recruitment marketing tool5”. In its report titled Diversity

Recruitment Guide, Symphony Talent discusses one of the best DEI practices for hiring

talent, namely creating an employer brand that highlights diversity and communicating DEI

objectives and activities both internally and externally. This can be accomplished by creating

a dedicated diversity resource page on their career website, as well as through job postings,

recruitment drives, and processes like assessments and interviews.

Making changes to time off and scheduling policies to include more religious holidays or

community events, as well as encouraging flexible work schedules that will allow candidates

to keep up their community involvement, are also some examples of practices being used

today to create company policies that appeal to diverse candidates6.

4
Jacobson, A., (September 20, 2022) 10 DEI Initiatives to Prioritize in the Workplace. Builtin.
https://builtin.com/diversity-inclusion/dei-initiatives
5
Symphony Talent (2022) Diversity Recruitment Guide. Symphony Talent.
https://523274.fs1.hubspotusercontentna1.net/hubfs/523274/Guides/%5BGuide%5D%20Diversity%20Recruit
ment.pdf?__hstc=&__hssc=&hsCtaTracking=103a2261-2464-489b-9fd7-b5dd93f695a2%7Cfd3816f8-6dec-
4092-adb1-bd9f98b7e416
6
Mcconnell, B,. (July 30, 2021). 12 ways to improve your diversity recruiting strategy. Recruiteeblog.
https://recruitee.com/articles/diversity-recruiting-strategy#3
The current practice of attempting to promote diversity in candidate screening through

blind resumes or interviews is equally crucial, and Mcconnell emphasizes this7. Finally,

diversifying search options and not always using the same ones to find talent would be a

crucial DEI strategy8. Although LinkedIn and Indeed are well-liked resources for job

searches, it's possible that some talent goes unnoticed if the profiles of individuals who

could be the ideal fit for a position are not placed on such websites. For instance, links with

administrative academics at universities with diverse student populations might be a useful

recruiting resource.

I would therefore advise ABC to implement some of these trends and practices after

analyzing some of the best DEI practices, such as posting information about diversity and

inclusion on ABC's website, developing company policies that could be appealing to both

men and women and all ethnicities, such as allowing employees to select from a variety of

holiday days or flexible work schedules to accommodate their religious holidays or school

holidays of their children. In order to uncover talent from various sources, ABC could also

attempt collaborating with some organizations that offer resources for professionals from

underrepresented groups.

7
Mcconnell, B,. (July 30, 2021). 12 ways to improve your diversity recruiting strategy. Recruiteeblog.
https://recruitee.com/articles/diversity-recruiting-strategy#3
8
Devonish, L,. (2021). DEI Talent Acquisition Strategies. Why Are They Essential to Companies’
Sustainability? https://cowenpartners.com/dei-talent-acquisition-strategies/
 Part Three: Course Reflection

I have learned a great deal in this class about how human resource management functions.

Since the beginning of the semester, I've become aware of exactly how many HRM functions

are performed across any organization, as well as how crucial this group of people is to an

employer and even more crucial to the employees. I have also gained a lot of knowledge

about the various aspects of HRM, such as labor relations, compensation and benefits,

training, hiring processes, and the growth of human resources.

I was surprised by how much I had observed during these weeks about what Human Resource

Management needed to accomplish to run a successful business. Depending on how well

managed the human resources are, a company may succeed or fail.

As a lawyer, I want to work in a law company in the near future. Law firms, like every other

organization, have a human resources department in charge of employing new interns and

business professionals. I will recommend the HR team to make use of the latest technology,

such as social media, and employ it in the human resource management.

Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Wright, P. and Gerhart, B., (2020) Fundamentals of Human
Resource Management. Eighth Edition. Chapters 9, 10 and 14. McGraw Hill education.

Jacobson, A., (September 20, 2022) 10 DEI Initiatives to Prioritize in the Workplace. Builtin.
https://builtin.com/diversity-inclusion/dei-initiatives

Symphony Talent (2022) Diversity Recruitment Guide. Symphony Talent.

Mcconnell, B,. (July 30, 2021). 12 ways to improve your diversity recruiting strategy.
Recruiteeblog. https://recruitee.com/articles/diversity-recruiting-strategy#3

Devonish, L,. (2021). DEI Talent Acquisition Strategies. Why Are They Essential to
Companies’ Sustainability? https://cowenpartners.com/dei-talent-acquisition-strategies/