Human Resource Management Issue

Human Resource Management is a very important aspect for any organization. It helps in proper and systematic management of the resources in the organization. It also helps in protecting and safeguarding the interest of the employees in the organization. If the human resource activities function properly in an organization, it will help in maintaining harmonious and congenial relations between the employer and the employee. The human resource department helps in hiring the people who have great knowledge of implementing new technology in the organization.

The highly skilled and committed workforce is also a result of the efforts of human resource department. It also helps the organization in achieving its goals. The human resource activities maintain a balance in the corporation. It keeps a check that everybody is well- informed of the activities, of the organization. It increases the communication level in the organization. A well- developed and highly maintained HR department is highly beneficial for the growth of an organization. All the systems and processes are well -organized with the help of HR activities.

It helps in the dynamic growth of the organization and leads to effective management. The organization can improve the capabilities of the employees with the help of training and coaching undertaken by the human resource department. It also helps in promoting healthy working environment in an organization. A company can be successful only if the manpower quality is good, which shows the direct importance of the human resource management in an organization. It also assists in motivating the employees to work efficiently in the organization and retains the present workforce (Bratton & Gold 2001).

For the paper, the situation of merger has been selected to analyze the human resource issue. An example of merger between the Glaxo Wellcome Plc and SmithKline Beecham Plc can be considered in this paper. This merger is one of the world’s famous mergers and the company is now known as GlaxoSmithKline. The company is based in UK and is a healthcare, pharmaceutical and biological company. It is the second largest company of the world in pharmaceutical area. It has expanded its business at a global level in many countries of the world (Stevens 2000). The paper most importantly discusses a human resource issue related to the merger.

The challenge related to the HR issue is also discussed and analyzed. It will help in knowing the various facts related to human resource in case of a merger. It can also help other companies to know the critical HR situation that both the companies have to face in case of a union. The area which has been selected is integration and knowledge sharing. There are various HR issues related to this area, which needs to be analyzed. But for this paper, we will consider only one issue and a challenge related to the issue. The HR issue that has been selected related to the selected area of discussion is diversity and communication.

Diversity & Communication Though diversity and communication are separate terms; but they both are interrelated and go hand in hand. They cannot be separated from each other, as the one directly affects the other. Communication is affected by diversity in both the organizations. The diversity in the workforce of the organizations should be properly managed. It is a very critical issue that leads to conflicts and blocks the way of progress for the organization. It is so because, if the manpower of the organization does not function effectively with cooperation and coordination, then, how can the company proceed towards further development.

Human resource of the organization is the most important factor that contributes to the success of the organization. It should be handled properly and with great care. In case of mergers, there is intermingling of people that follow various religions, languages, values and beliefs. This gives rise to a diverse workforce in the organization. People have to understand and cooperate with each other in such a diverse working environment. This diversity often leads to problems in communication due to cultural barriers. All people do not follow the same language.

There are also differences in their traditions which often results in poor communication and conflicts between the employees. It can also result in faulty decision making. When people of different cultural backgrounds meet and work together it is important that they should understand each other in the right manner (Harris & Hartman 2001). Diversity can be a big obstacle in the way of effective and efficient communication. For knowledge sharing and integration, it is very important to develop a good communication system in the organization.

If the communication is not effectively managed, it can often lead to failure of business plans. It is also a negative result of the improperly managed merger of two organizations. The organizations that are involved in the merger have to integrate themselves into each other for better understanding of the business. The systems, procedures and strategies of both the organizations should be properly integrated. All this requires redistribution of power between the merging organizations. In the case of mergers, it is very common that the cultural clashes often occur between the employees of both the organizations.

The employees face difficulties in adjusting to the environment. The attitude, behavior and role of the managers highly affect the employees. To reduce the communication gap between the employees the cultural clashes needs to be reduced. Lack of communication often leads to demoralization and loss of many key personnel. If this happens, it is a great loss for the organization. The next section focuses on certain outcomes, which can result due to mishandling or ignorance of this issue (Merger Success: what’s communication got to do with it 2002).