Turbulent Human Resource Environment

Assignment A

“Inarguably, the human resource environment is currently more turbulent than in any other period since World War II” –Charles Greer

I agree with Greer in his assertion of the turbulence of the modern human resource environment. As he points out, technology is probably the single most important change that affects all aspects of human resources. Technology certainly makes my role possible as the Executive Director of a geographically diverse group of integrative doctors who attempt to communicate regularly through email discussions and teleconferences (a “virtual team” in Greer’s term on page 49 of Strategic Human Management, 2001). In this job as well as the work I’ve had for the last ten years, computer skills have been essential as a workplace tool, including graphic design, Excel, word processing, PowerPoint, email and social networking functions. Though I had no computer training in undergraduate school, I have had to get on-the-job experience that propelled me into basic computer competence. This rapid change in technology has caused a kind of turbulence as employees and employers scramble to keep up with technological advancement and appropriate use.
Greer describes several new organizational units that have emerged to challenge traditional forms of corporations. One structure that I was quite unfamiliar with is “unbundled corporations”, a loose network of autonomous companies with a lot of outsourced services taking up bureaucratic duties. The reason this set-up is turbulent is that companies can easily be dropped and added with minimal sacrifice on the head corporate unit. “Networking organizations” is another form new to me. This is also a structure that depends on elaborate outsourcing, with a small permanent core. This is also a turbulent change compared to the past, though more long-term than the unbundled corporation paradigm. Technologically-based cellular organizations, which are modeled after guilds, and respondent organizations that fill niches left by other new forms of corporate structure, are two more dramatic changes in the organizational landscape. Although my organization could not be said to fit into any of these models, I realize that in the past a group like mine would have had a much larger, more permanent staff. Instead, these days we outsource regularly for graphic design, printing, marketing, law, and accounting services, following the trends described above.
As a relatively young person in the job market, I find myself positively identifying with many of the other developments Green describes that add to change and turbulence in human resources. I have worked mostly for small businesses in my career, and prefer that modality, as is reflected in the growing movement toward small business employment. It is important to me that I enjoy my jobs and I place a great value on my belief that the work I do is relevant and important to me and others. Though I have a high level of commitment to doing a good job I have a low level of loyalty for loyalty’s sake toward my employer, and I do not expect long term job security in my lifetime. Committee task forces, desire for open flow of information about the company, and the assumption of gender, race and cultural sensitivity and balance are regular components of my work, all of which are part of the changing paradigm described by Greer.
In conclusion, I do support Charles Greer’s hypothesis that a turbulent human resource environment has defined the workplace in the last sixty years, and will continue to impact a future that is bound to be filled with further tumult.

Assignment B
Human Resource practices as mandated by law outline a much improved social contract with the American workforce, however many of them are under-enforced and largely ignored until challenged at court. Ending discrimination of all kinds is an admirable task, whether it benefits women, minorities, differently-abled, aged, or homosexual people. This kind of respect for equality is what America should be all about. Unfortunately, the attitudes beyond the letter of the law still affect thousands of workers who are treated dreadfully, both in society and in the workplace.
Although I can’t think of direct ways that these anti-discrimination rules have affected my career, I have a friend who recently went through an unfortunate series of events involving sexual harassment at her employment with no resolution.
Liz was approached in a sexually inappropriate manner by a supervisor. She told a co-worker about her distress at this, and the co-worker reported her complaint to the supervisor in question. The next day Liz was told she was no longer welcome at her job and was sent back to the temp agency that she officially worked for. In the next weeks, Liz, a low income single mother, was given only a fraction of the hours of work that she relied on to make ends meet, an unusual situation for her at the agency that she felt sure was treating her with retribution against her claim of sexual harassment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s guidelines on sexual harassment were of no help to Liz, who had limited education and understanding of her rights, and who had been employed in a complex arrangement with a temp agency.
The existence of laws protecting women from such treatment is a hopeful thing. It is a worthy goal of all of us in the business world to see that all anti-discrimination laws are followed and that attitudes are adjusted to also reflect the spirit of the law in our workplace.