Yangon University of Economic

Department of Management Studies

MBA 25th Batch

Human Resource Management Assignment

Submitted to Summitted by

Daw Kay Thi Soe Mg Phyoe Htut Oo

Associate Professor MBA I - 42

technological innovation, globalization, and changes in the nature of work have

affected to Human Resource Management.

1.1. Workforce Diversity Trend

Workforce diversity means similarities and differences among employees in terms

of age, cultural background, physical abilities and disabilities, race, religion, gender, and

sexual orientation. Everybody is not the same. People are different in not only gender,

culture, race, social and psychological characteristics but also in their perspectives and

prejudices.

Workforce diversity is shifting to become a business necessity instead of a banner

that wave to embrace differences or changes. Employees expect both tangible and

intangible benefits from workplace, such as mutual respect between co-worker,

empowerment of marginalized workers, reduce conflict and resolution, business

reputation enhancement, job promotion or compensation and employee development.

The increasing exposure to different cultures and backgrounds. Employees need to learn

different work style and statutes about work varies from their own.

Workforce diversity is created especially for work productivity. Therefore, it is

necessary for current workplace and become strength for the organization. Nowadays,

this becomes very challenging because there are more different people in an

organization, there may be more diverse in making decision. Therefore, in practicing

workforce diversity, there may be both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages

include more creativity, advanced innovation, good reputation, and different perspectives

that lead to increase business collaboration with one another. This collaboration could
bring more and more advance innovation and ability to stay ahead in this challenging

workplace. However, there also disadvantages for this. They include; communication

barriers because of different cultures, negative attitude because of different perception

and resistance to change because of different experience and characteristics. Since there

may be different cultures and communication styles, it would be difficult to bring together

employees. Therefore, this would be very challenging.

For example, an organization concerned with developing state-of-the-art

technology solutions might assign tech-savvy workers from Generation X or the Millennial

generation to these projects, instead of a long-term worker from the Silent generation who

relies on processing work using conventional methods.

1.2. Technological Innovation Trend

Nowadays, technology has been advanced as the changing environment.

Therefore, continuous technological development is essential in the workplace.

Technological innovation creates opportunities for entrepreneurs to found new

organizations and establish competitive positions. Technological innovation also creates

uncertainty and risk for incumbents because its outcomes can be only imperfectly

anticipated.

Technological innovation in the workplace can affect workers at every level. Since

organizations are innovating technology in their workplace, employees would have to

meet with opportunities or great challenging. To implement the workforce diversity with

the support of technological innovation, HR managers must think the way to decide how

they select, recruit, and train to adapt the innovation. HR technology also provides
managers with the necessary decision-making tools to allow them to make more

effective HR-related decisions.

As technology is innovating day by day, employers increasingly use social media

tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to recruit new employees. The Human

Resource departments can use social media not only for recruitment but also for

employee engagement. It is considered as primary source for companies to reach their

Human Resource goals. Social media offers countless benefits to Human Resource

professionals and lets them keep up with the news, technology, and trends. Therefore,

the use of technology has been shown to lead to faster, more accurate and more efficient

processes, and reduced HR costs.

1.3. Globalization Trend

Globalization is about the interconnectedness of people and businesses across

the world that eventually leads to global cultural, political and economic integration.

Globalization is due to the emergence of ICT, technological advancement on

transportation sector and deregulation of many nations. Globalization has both positive

and negative effects which affect the standard of life and the quality of life. On the

business level, globalization affects an organization’s product life cycle. On the individual

level, globalization has affected the standard of life and quality of life of individuals and

families throughout the world.

The effects of globalization on HR have also brought attention to the importance

of cross-border legal compliance. Companies now have the potential to sell products and

services in many different markets through use of the Internet and postal service. Doing
so brings with it added tax, customs and border security concerns to the human resources

division. Selling products overseas may involve the need to apply for additional permits

or to pay tax within a different jurisdiction. Employing workers in a foreign country will

mean that the company has to follow the laws concerning labor and compensation in that

location. All of these cross-border legal concerns are important for the organization to

grasp, because there may be serious consequences attached to failure to follow the law.

Other areas of HRM affected by globalization are compensation, benefits, and

labor relations (i.e., unions). Expatriate compensation and benefits are complex and

typically much higher than comparable pay in the employee’s home country. Elements of

compensation that motivate and retain employees in different countries may vary.

Chinese managers placed less emphasis on work performance, greater emphasis on co-

worker relationships, and greater value on personal needs when making compensation

decisions. In the U.S., unions collectively bargain over “wages, benefits and terms of

employment” whereas European unions and works councils tend to emphasize a wider

range of issues such as political causes, holidays and family leave. Work rules such as

due process and grievance procedures vary considerably as well.

1.4. Changes in the Nature of Work Trend

Everything is not forever and change is constant. It is an undeniable fact that how

to undertake work is so much different from the way we did 30 years ago. Increased

workforce diversity, technological innovation and globalization are changing the nature of

work from previous traditional form to competitive position. So, Human Resource needs

to find a way to engage their workers in a way that they want to be with the company and

be at work but also recognize that they also have interests outside of the workplace. The
changing functions of Human Resource, and the changing role for Human Resource

practitioners is something that must be addressed explicitly in research into the

relationship between Human Resource Management, employee well-being and

performance.

By using the right techniques to HRM in the changing nature of work, the global

trends can be improved as empowering the workforce to increase productivity in the

digital workplace and being smarter business with advanced innovating in the E-business.

They are more and more challenging in today’s business environment. The organization

should try to get, retain and develop its position comparing from others. Changes in the

nature of work can enhance the subordinates’ skill by fulfilling their needs and desire such

as flexible working times, alternative job rotation and virtual works etc. Although the

changes are becoming challenges, organization should follow up in time and update their

ability to survive in the dynamic world to attain the great opportunity from both inside and

outside.

Change is not always easy to deal with, particularly in the workplace. People grow

accustomed to schedules and routines, which gives them a feeling of comfort. But, the

lack of change is not always a good thing. It can lead to a stale, unbending work

environment that is not able to quickly and effectively adapt to new opportunities.

Taking virtual work as an example, the changing nature of work has facilitated this.

Having employees working from home or from remote work centers is common, and more

employers are allowing this due to a variety of converging reasons, including the desire

to save energy, increased travel times, skill shortages, and a global workforce. Over the

past decade so many companies have encouraged virtual work that it is almost expected.
People are comfortable working with their laptops and smart phones, and have access to

Skype accounts and collaborative workspaces. All of these tools make working away from

a physical place practical, convenient, and cheap. There is no doubt that this form of

employment will grow rapidly and, in my opinion, may make up as much as half the U.S.

workforce within a decade as most employers recognize the benefit of allowing workers

to be located remotely.

2. Based on your personal experiences, list 5 examples showing how you used (or

could have used) human resource management techniques at work or school.

The main assert of any organization in today lies in people. Based on training,

coordination and motivation of people in organization are depended the quality,

productivity, profitability, customer satisfaction and the image or band of organization.

Human resource techniques can be defined as an efficient way of managing human

capital, employment relations issues, etc. HR tools are elements that are used to enhance

the overall process by providing relevant information regarding laws and best practices,

streamlining procedures etc. HR tools and techniques can vary from organization to

organization. However, the underlining function and goal remains the same.
2.1. Balanced Scorecard (BSC)

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a strategic management technique for

communicating and evaluating the achievement of the mission and strategy of the

organization using both financial and non-financial measures.

The examples of Balanced Scorecards presented are entirely hypothetical and

rather schematic. Usually, they may contain more initiatives for each objective, as well as

more goals. The important thing is to understand the concept and how to use it correctly

in the particular business.

2.2. Leadership

Leadership can be defined as the ability of an individual to develop the potential of

a team in pursuit of a common interest. There are different leadership styles

(authoritarian, participatory, consultative, ...). Each style may be appropriate to the

context and characteristics of employees. The source of leadership may be the charisma,

the hierarchical power, the power of knowledge or behavior. Through education and

training, people who have responsibility for others can develop optimal leadership style.

A leader does not command it runs, does not impose, but seeks consensus, not divide

but unites.

In a leadership course were explained leadership styles. Participants were able to

assess the leadership style by completing a questionnaire. In addition, each participant

learned to evaluate the pros and cons of each style and know how to apply the most

appropriate in each circumstance.

Cross-Training, also referred to as 'Worker multifunctionality', is the process of

developing a multi-skilled labour force by providing employees with training and

development opportunities to ensure they have the skills necessary to perform various

job functions within their organization. It involves training and teaching employees to

perform two or more roles, skills or tasks which may or may not be related to their current

work.

Cross-training programs may also improve the overall work atmosphere in a

business, which may in turn improve the bottom line. Employees are a valuable asset in

small businesses, which often must maintain only a bare bones staff in order to remain

competitive. This makes it even more important to make maximum use of employees'

skills and talents. Investing in on-the-job training shows all those involved that individual

career growth is a valuable and necessary part of the company's overall growth. If

employees believe they have the potential to improve within the company, they will be

generally happier with their jobs and more willing to go the extra mile when needed.

Employees will be more productive and feel more a part of the overall mission of the

company. This usually leads to a high overall morale.

2.4. Outsourcing

Outsourcing is distinguished from retaining work in-house, in that work is

performed by independent parties who are not part of the firm’s employee base. Even the

largest companies, like Google, outsource work to remote employees. Finding the right

balance between outsourcing work and keeping work in-house will depend on the needs
of business, where the talent lies, what the priorities are, and the targeted budget. It’s

definitely worth looking into outsourcing as the scale.

Outsourcing involves subcontracting parts of a company's value-chain, (steps in

the design, supply, production, marketing, sales, and services processes) to other

companies or contractors that specialize in those activities. Through outsourcing

agreements, the client company hires separate companies to perform specific tasks in

the value-chain on its behalf.

2.5. Human Resources Information System (HRIS)

The importance of organization’s vision in leading is the implementation of HRIS

(Human Resource Information System). The benefit of HRIS is that an organization are

in various ways. Even small companies should hold the HRIS to improve their HRM and

human capital resources. The application of HRIS depends on the technological

readiness of the establishment and its environment. Increasing the size of the business

with the application of high-tech innovations, increase process automation effectively and

efficiency. High-performing organizations replace more specific techniques on putting

resources to support HRM policies, which are more likely to apply HRIS.