Kemery, E. R. (2009). The Role of the Human Resource Management Department in Internal Investigations. Business Renaissance Quarterly, 4(3), 175+
This journal article by E.R. Kemery argues that the HRM department can play an important role in internal investigations from the initial complaint through to its final resolution. Though not usually thought of as a major player in reducing an organization’s risk exposure, the HRM department sometimes finds itself front-and-centre in addressing employee misconduct. And, how these matters are handled can profoundly affect an organization, its members, and its reputation. Basic functions usually ascribed to an HRM department include hiring, screening job applicants, managing payroll and benefits, ensuring fair employment practices documentation, and carrying out training and development. While risk management is not a typical HRM role – a function usually relegated to finance and accounting – “the HRM department can contribute to reducing an organization’s risk exposure due to employee misconduct through developing policies and procedures to address misconduct, publicizing them, and training employees in their implementation.” Clearly written and logically sound, this article is apt reading for the HRM coursework.
Benowitz, S. C. (2009). Building a Performance Culture through Improved Human Resource Management Strategies. The Public Manager, 38(1), 75+.
This journal article talks about how executives and managers in public service are faced with the task of building work cultures that support high performance. What is needed is a symbiotic relationship between agency executives and managers and the rank-and-file employees upon whom we all depend for essential services. This is where inculcating a “performance culture” proves crucial, as it boosts an entire organization to work together to meet organizational goals and commitments on behalf of its many stakeholders, most important, the public that the organization serves. With this in mind, then, a performance culture can succeed only if the relationships between employees at all levels are open, transparent, and supportive. While executive leadership is vital, employees at all levels have a considerable impact on the ability of the organization to succeed, so leadership is needed at all levels. What makes author Benowitz’ suggestions compelling is his stature and reputation in the field of HRM. He is the lead executive fellow of the Center for Transformation and Strategic Initiatives. Formerly, he served for thirty years in a variety of senior-level positions in numerous federal agencies–primarily in human resources.
Intan-Soraya, R., & Chew, K. (2010). A Framework for Human Resource Management in the Knowledge Economy: Building Intellectual Capital and Innovative Capability. International Journal of Business and Management Science, 3(2), 251+.
Over the years, the business environment has grown increasingly complex and characterized by rapid technological progress. Innovation is the crucial enabler for business value creation and sustainable competitive advantage, and it is driven by a firm’s capability to manage its knowledge stocks or intellectual capital. Since the knowledge based perspective of the organization runs on the basic assumption that knowledge resides in individuals, firms need to facilitate communication and exchange among individuals in order to gain new insights and capabilities. Since literature in the field of HRM is particularly concerned with “the management of people in organizations, it is comprehensively explored in the context of knowledge management and organizational innovation. Hence, the question is ‘how can a organization’s human resource management strategy and practices be attuned toward building its intellectual capital and innovative capability?’” Much of the past literature has established the key role of HRM in innovation performance, but only some have explained ‘how’ it manages to do so. By merging and synthesizing studies on strategic HRM, organizational learning and knowledge management, and innovation, this research paper aims to develop an integrated framework that captures how a firm’s HRM strategy and practices can be utilized to drive organizational knowledge building, and improve its innovative capability.