IS YOUR HR DEPARTMENT FRIEND OR FOE
Introduction
Human resource management is a long established task within organizational settings or management frameworks. Through this task, the management of different companies meets their obligation to be god employers. They seek to secure staff commitment, develop and manage staff to give their best to assist the companies to increase the profits and serve the community Mondy, Noe, & Gowan, (2005). The need to respond to changing community expectations means that the task of managing the staff better is of importance than ever. It is the staffs, who deliver the services, it is through new emphasis on staff management that customers’ service, and performance-oriented culture will gradually evolve.
Issues raised in today’s HRM are to determine where changes are required in the implementation of Human Resouhb .n rce Management. This includes whether to outsource and do away with HR department. Human resource should represent the employee in matters related to salaries, incentive plans, and fringe benefits to talent retention, retention programs and risk management. This requires managers in different departments to work together to get the intended return on investments Mondy, Noe, & Gowan, (2005).
Issues in Human Resource
The answered questions
Experts in management observed that the tasks related to human resource have changed over the last four decades. Most of the Mandates are because of Legislations that started with enactment of Equal employment Opportunity Act of 1972. Human resource departments expanded and attempts to keep pace with the legal demands. These create and update systems necessary to aID and expand services. Because of the reactive posture, the HR discipline missed an opportunity to become of a full partner in the organizational management. Many critical observers wonder whether HR is a full planner and decision-maker or just a firefighting activity.
This distinction relates to the attitude of senior management. Human becomes more important and integral member of a management team to the extent that senior managers regard Human Resource department as a professional specialty, further, they ensure that the HR led by competent people who have been appropriately educated and have necessary training. They provide support for a HR department in an and continuous manner.
How does a department whose responsibilities are continually challenging and evolving remain current? Further complicating this question is the widely held perceptions that the HR is an entity to be tolerated rather than embraced. The reason behind this is that HR does not generate profits. Expressed differently, how does a HR department become strategic in an organization and partner with its leaders- a full-fledge member of senior management? The HR filed wrestles with this question without satisfactory conclusions. It gained status in the health care organization, but in many, it has yet to become a reality.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the activity by an organization to seek external vendors to provide, on continuing basis, a service that would be normally provided within the organization (Purse, 2009). Outsourcing leads to reduction of staff in the Human Resource department. However, it assists in cutting budgets. Staff reduction is not the leading reasons for outsourcing. Companies going for outsourced activities argue that cutbacks relates to economic pressures and re-engineering creating opportunities for companies that specialize in Human resource services. Commonly outsourced HR activities include Payroll, insurance claim processing, retirement and saving plans, employee education and employment of candidate background checks.
Some of the downsizing of HR operations results in outsourcing to save money. Many of the small facilities lacking the resources to employ adequate fulltime HR staff heavily rely on outsourcing. Re-engineering aside, HR departments outsourcing some of the activities because doing so, they make economic sense (Purse, 2009). Activities such as administering of self-funded insurance, disability program, coordination of employee assistance program frequently provided by non-organization employee for reasons of confidentiality. This may present the company from having to reveal employees personal and medication to persons administering the programs.
AIDitional outsourcing of HR activities is one of the results of reengineering. This system eliminates HR staff and adjusts the Human resource workloads. However, the HR managers as the head of the department have strategic advantage in the corporation. The in-house managers are a group of persons who better understand and participate in the daily managing of the organization. With the thorough knowledge of the firm, better recommendations and decision making comes from the HR. the recruiting, training, organizational development and culture, retention succeed through better knowledge and the understanding of the business needs (Mondy, Noe, & Gowan, (2005).
Summary
Some managers argue that we do not need the human resource departments in organizations and the world today. They argue that Human Resource operated well in the old age but not in today’s environment. The opponents of HR departments would like to outsource the services from other companies to save the operating costs incurred by an organization. Businesses, however, get constrained by the ability to appoint and develop leaders together with growing poor technical and professional knowledge and skills in the market. A line manager cannot fix employees’ issues. When organization re-skill and continue transforming the HR function, there will be tremendous changes experiences (Purse, 2009). Human resource professional solves most essential challenges facing employees today. Highly successful companies around the world have world-class Human resource program in place.

References
PURSE, K. (2009). Outsourcing Myths and Workers’ Compensation Claims Administration. Australian Journal of Public Administration. 68, 446-458.
MONDY, R. W., NOE, R. M., & GOWAN, M. (2005). Human resource management. Upper SaIDle River, N.J., Pearson Prentice Hall.