HR Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HR Management - Assignment Example According to Wilcox and Lowry it is the reframing and repositioning of HRM practices as the businesses strategic partner that makes employees the important economic resources (2006, pp. 50-64). There are two major views and perspectives when it comes to Human Resource Management. These are the instrumental or hard practices and the humanistic or soft practices. Instrumental practices focus on the quantitative and strategic approaches towards people management. In this case, it mainly provides a highlight of the economic value of human resources. It focuses on how these resources are important in maximizing the performance of the organization (Lee-Ross & Pryce 2010, p. 66). As such, they can be used to provide a firm’s competitive advantage. It is these HRM practices that can be aligned with the other activities in the business and strategies of the organization to promote some of the other additional practices such as restructuring, outsourcing and downsizing, which are considered to be strategic actions. The instrumental or hard HRM practices include labor legislations. On the other hand, the humanistic or soft HRM practices are those that include functions of orga nizational development, management of conflicts, and education of human resource, organizational culture, leadership development and components that contribute in building of relationships. They are more employee-centered and put into account the humanness within employees as it considers them to be proactive contributors to the firm (Harris, Wijesinghe & McKenzie 2010, p. 129). It makes more emphasis on the need for commitment, job satisfaction, motivation, trust and knowledge. In this sense, it helps in the enhancement of the level of employee engagement, development, participation and autonomy in addition to the participation in decision making activities and collaboration. Between these two kinds of HRM practices it is the humanistic