Introduction
The role of human resources in our lives today can not be underestimated, human resources are being “reinvented” today as written in the book “Reinventing Human Resource Management”, especially when the market of human resources is full of potential employees and reputable employees for them. Burke et al., 2004) As stated in “Human Resources: What’s Your Plan?” it is not easy to find a high-quality job, with all expected benefits. (Fountaine, 2005) Furthermore, the book “Insecurity and Work Intensification”, which is devoted to the insecurity of the job nowadays, takes us to the conclusion, that the importance of the job agreement, as the main indicator of job quality, rises. (Burchell et al. 2002).
Recruitment process
The recruitment process is a key procedure in getting the right people, this idea is performed in the book “Human Resources in Initial Public Offering Firms: Do Venture Capitalists Make a Difference? “(Cyr et al., 2000). Also as it is said in the book “Benchmark Tasks for Job Analysis”, organizations want to employ the best workforce and job agreement shows the level of responsibility and the award for the completed tasks to the future workforce. (Fine et al., 1995) The article “Job Search Correspondence” highlights the importance of careful job search in the market of human resources and discussion of the terms with possible employers. (Hagevik, 1998) The situation below is an example of conflict between employer and its potential employee, and a possible solution to the emerged problem.
A case of Harry Youngs
The problem has emerged due to the difference between what was written in the contract and what was said to Harry Young. Harry Young was sure to get certain benefits from this job, like the relocation allowance and airfares. However, according to the formal contract he was not supposed to have them, which was a shocking disappointment for him. On the one hand, the head of the Management Department, Dr. Mark De Chillo exceeded his authority by promising to Harry Young much more than it is stated in the contract. On the other hand, Harry Young made a significant mistake by not reading attentively the formal contract, which resulted in the following situation.
This problem could have been avoided by strictly following the contracts’ terms from the side of Dr. Mark De Chillo and a thorough study of the contract from the side of Harry Young. Harry Young should have asked for a written contract right after the conversation with Dr. Mark De Chillo to make sure that he received the full information with all the necessary details.
The problem which Harry Young faced is very common nowadays. The contract today can be written or oral, and the main terms in them can take three forms – written, oral or implied, or even a mixture of them. However, written terms secure both employee and employer not to have an obvious misunderstanding, and avoid potential conflicts, like this shown in the story. Though if terms are too obvious and anticipate ethical issues or others, they might not be specified or discussed in the contract.
The formal contract is an integral part of the relationship between the employer and the employee. Ideally, a firm offer from the side of the employer is written to avoid the problem, which is shown in this story, so the employee will clearly understand all the conditions. Moreover, it is stated in the Terms of Employment Act that every employer is ought to give each new employee a written statement with the necessary statement of terms and other relevant information.
So Harry Young had the right to demand a written contract to study all the details, however, he did not ask for it and it was the most significant mistake.
Harry Young is not in the best situation now, when he is disappointed with the real contracts’ terms. However, since he has not signed it yet, he has the choice of either refusing or protecting his rights.
One thing that can be advised to Harry Young, which is to ask for help from the trade union. Trade unions are representing the interests of not only those who are already working for the employer but future employees too. Harry Young could receive consultation from the representative of the trade union and decide whether he has the right to demand airfares and allowance or not.
The representative of the trade union will provide Harry with the possible solutions to his problem. Contract terms were verbally agreed upon by both parties, however, later there were modifications of the contract terms’, which changed the situation for Harry Young. So, Harry Young has full right to refuse this job offer. Unfortunately, the terms which were mentioned in the conversation with the Head of Human Resources department were not outlined in the actual contract agreement, so Harry Young has no right to ask neither for the airfares for him and his family nor for the allowances.
Another question that will be clarified by a trade union representative is how valid the contract is. The main problem is that this contract was only discussed by the telephone between two parties- the employee and the employer- however; there was no act of signing the written statement by any of the sides of this agreement. Furthermore, not all the provided information was correct, especially from the side of the employer.
To sum up, a trade union representative will investigate whether this contract can be considered valid. If this contract is considered to be official, then Harry Young should argue about the modifications of the agreement, the difference between what was offered during the first conversation and what was written in the agreement contract. These modifications are significant enough to ask for reimbursements for airfares or for events that caused suffering from the side of the employee.
If this contract is not considered to be valid, then Harry Young should contact the employer again and speak with a more qualified and experienced specialist of this company. If Harry Young still wants to work for this company, he should discuss his future job, his rights, and responsibilities with this person. Not to make this mistake, again he should receive his agreement contract before he talks to the manager to find out all questions that interest him. It would be wise to discuss the issue of airfares and allowances with the new specialist, even if it is not stated in the contract. If Harry Young is not going to apply for this job position again, this situation should be a good lesson about the importance of a written job contract and the procedure of signing the contract with the employer.
Certainly, if Harry Young finds a violation in the written contract, he may ask for full coverage of his rights as an employee of this company. A written contract should include the following items, required by the law: his salary, hours of work, information about both disciplinary and grievance rules, sick pay arrangements and notice periods, holiday entitlements. Harry Young should find out whether his children according to the law have the right to get medical insurance. Harry Young is supposed to receive a part-time job, which duration is two years. Part-time employees’ rights are violated at the highest level since they are not considered to be regular personnel. This is the main reason why Harry Young should study all his rights and responsibilities. For example, a part-time employee has the right to get the wage and holiday entitlement at the same rate as other workers at this company; secondly, the part-time employee can have the same break or holiday schedule as full-time workers. Harry Young will have the right to be treated with the same level of respect and favor as other workers.
Furthermore, Harry Young, even not a regular worker, should receive the equal opportunity of the organizational promotion. And if Harry Young needs training for this future promotion, he should receive it fully.
Ethical questions
There are certainly ethical questions, which are involved in this situation. First of all, the head of the Management Department is obliged to give full and accurate information about the employer’s offer, so it was his responsibility to provide Harry with the concrete terms of the contract. As a highly qualified specialist, he had to send his future employee the written contract to avoid all possible interpretations and misleading. So, this situation has emerged partly due to his unprofessional management of the situation.
If the responsibility of providing future employees with information about companies’ job position is not included in the list of his duties, or he doesn’t have enough resources to answer such question, then it was a significant violation from his side, and he should be fined for exceeding his authority. Moreover, Harry Young has the right to sue the company for providing him with inaccurate information about the job and the contract.
Harry Young should not have said that his family was going to move to Hong Kong. By giving such information to Dr. De Chillo, he was hoping to be a more attractive employee for this company, but these words provoked the fact, that employer decided not to pay for his airfares. These ethical problems now resulted in a very unpleasant situation for Harry Young and caused his dissatisfaction with his future employer. (Teo, 2005).
In the end, it is important to emphasize the fact that the role of the Human Resources Department has not decreased over time, as it is stated in the book “Creating a Strategic Human Resources Organization”. (Lawler, 2005) The job contract is one of the main tools of the organization to attract a new workforce, which will help this organization make more profit: “Every organization competes for its most essential resource: qualified, knowledgeable people” (Drucker, 1992).
Unfortunately, as it is shown in this situation, many cases of misinterpretation and misunderstanding can occur during the communication between the employer and employee. Besides, as it is described in the book “Managing Human Resources in Cross-Border Alliances”, conflicts can even emerge inside the organization and can lead to significant conflict, that’s why the wise management of human resources, the procedure of recruitment and its tools is one of the most complicated processes on the enterprise. (Schuler, 2003).
Summary
The article “Human Resources Management Perspective at the Turn of the Century “ summarizes that the human resources department has the future, and its importance will inevitably rise with years. ( Lipiec, 2001).
References
Burchell, Brendan, David Ladipo, and Frank Wilkinson, eds. 2002. Job Insecurity and Work Intensification. London: Routledge.
Burke, Ronald J. and Cary L. Cooper, eds. 2004. Reinventing Human Resources Management: Challenges and New Directions. New York: Routledge.
Cyr, Linda A., Diane E. Johnson, and Theresa M. Welbourne. 2000. Human Resources in Initial Public Offering Firms: Do Venture Capitalists Make a Difference?. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice 25, no. 1: 77.
Fine, Sidney A., and Maury Getkate. 1995. Benchmark Tasks for Job Analysis: A Guide for Functional Job Analysis (FJA) Scales. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Fountaine, Dave. 2005. Human Resources: What’s Your Plan?. Public Management, 25.
Hagevik, Sandra. 1998. Job Search Correspondence. Journal of Environmental Health 60, no. 6: 32.
Lawler, Edward E., Susan Albers Mohrman, Alice Yee Mark, Beth Neilson, and Nora Osganian. 2003. Creating a Strategic Human Resources Organization: An Assessment of Trends and New Directions. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Lipiec, Jacek. 2001. Human Resources Management Perspective at the Turn of the Century. Public Personnel Management 30, no. 2: 137.
Schuler, Randall S., Susan E. Jackson, and Yadong Luo. 2003. Managing Human Resources in Cross-Border Alliances. New York: Routledge.
Teo, Stephen T.T., and John Crawford. 2005. Indicators of Strategic HRM Effectiveness: A Case Study of an Australian Public Sector Agency during Commercialization. Public Personnel Management 34, no. 1: 1.