There are five fundamental activities in the process of managing people. These activities include staffing, retention, development, adjustment, and managing change. The activity starts from identifying the job requirements, the number of required employees and the process of recruitment also known as staffing. Next, the managers have to ensure that a good reward system is in place so that employees are encouraged to work more efficiently. On the other hand, the company must have a good training program. This will ensure that the employees attain a higher performance level. Lastly, experienced managers must always prepare for changes and adapt a system of management that conforms to the changing environment. Finally, it is the role of the manager to ensure that humans are managed efficiently just like all the other resources are managed.
Quality of work life
In the 21’s century, the definition of a good quality of work life is not only getting a high salary or commission but also ensuring satisfaction of workers in the terms of their physical and mental well-being at the workplace. According to Cascio, “[Quality] of work life involves giving workers the opportunity to make decisions about the design of their jobs and workplaces” (P. 24). If employees have a good quality of work life, they will perform more efficiently and loyally. Both the management and human resources departments have the ability to make a better quality of work life in their own way. On their part, the management can empower their employees by allowing them to design their jobs while the HR department may design good and fair reward systems for the employees.
Productivity
Increasing productivity is having a competitive advantage over one’s rivals. According to Cascio, higher productivity involves getting more output without an increase in the input (P. 22). Increased productivity has direct and indirect benefits both to the firm and workers. For the firm, the cost of production per unit will decrease. This allows the company to offer its products at a cheaper rate compared to the rivals. Practically, this translates to mo more profit. On the other hand, workers might get higher salaries and more promotion opportunities. In conclusion, improved productivity will affect workers indirectly in their quality of work life in terms of increased remuneration and promotion.
E-commerce
In the era of the Internet, the way in which people do business has been transformed greatly. Great changes have been witnessed in areas such as size of the firm and the relationship between customers and producers. The advent of the Internet has brought with it e-commerce, a new channel for selling products or service provision. The minimum requirements for setting up the business are a computer and Internet connection. Therefore, the firm can be as small as a person. Furthermore, customers will use the Internet to make price comparisons and buy the best product that meets their needs and abilities. In addition, producers can use the Internet for advertisement and selling of their products around the world.
New forms of organization
Advancement of technology has seen invention of items such as computer, software, and Internet. On their part, these have led to new forms of organizations; the virtual workplace and outsourcing. The high technology today allows employees to work anywhere anytime through the cyberspace or network. For example, most of companies in USA offer the 24 hours services for their customers. Instead of using people in USA for all 24 hours, they hire employees or companies outside America. Furthermore, the companies can produce the desired product and avoid unnecessary products. This can be done through outsourcing. The firms can use outsourcing company’s expertise so as to reduce their costs.
Reengineering
Cascio defines reengineering as, “…the fundamental rethinking and radical redesigning of business processes to achieve dramatic improvement in cost” (P. 18). Firms engage in reengineering for several purposes. Among them is reducing the cost, and competitive advantage. Through the reduction of process or cycle time, firms can save the cost of operation. For example, Geico uses online application and online quotation so as to reduce expenses. Accordingly, Geico offers the lowest price for insurance policy than any of their rivals. Although reengineering improves productivity, it affects the culture of the organization. Therefore, managers have the obligation to provide information and make employees understand. In addition, human resources department has to prepare a training program, job analysis, etc to support the reengineering efforts.