Human Resource/Management Relations, Selection, and Discrimination
Reply to Classmate’s Post (D.P)
• Your reply to the classmate’s post (see below) must be 250-300 words
• 2 Scholarly Sources (published within the last 5 years) must be used and cited properly in text and in References section (APA 7th Edition)
• The textbook must also be used as a source
• Include Biblical integration (include Scripture, passage, and how it applies)
• All citations and references must be in current APA format
• Do not use the same sources or Biblical integration from your former post (also included below) or that the classmate used
Classmate’s (D.P) Post to Reply to:
Do you believe that managers should be given more autonomy to make personnel decisions such as hiring, appraising, and compensating subordinates, or do you believe that managers should be given less autonomy to make such decisions? Explain and substantiate your reasoning.
Managers present individuals in a firm that are tasked with ensuring that the operation of a firm go on smoothly and that the outcomes are positive. In executing their role, it is necessary that managers are given autonomy in making decisions. According to James (2022), autonomy in management involves permitting a great deal of freedoms for a manager to make a choice at their place of work. With autonomy, a manager would be in a position to ensure that any prompt decision that need to be made are done in a timely manner. Autonomy in decision making by a manger is also important as it would ensure that the decisions that a manager is to make are not negatively influenced by other players. In business, there is the possibility of selfish individuals trying to influence the decisions of a manager. However, if the manager has autonomy then this would mean that they would be tasked with ensuring that the decisions made are in the best interest of the firm.
On matters hiring and appraising, a manger should have autonomy but this should not mean that such activities are done devoid of consultations. Managers are tasked with ensuring that a firm gets new employees as well as ensures that the necessary tools are availed in order to ensure that the best outcomes are achieved. Preparing for an appraisal requires that managers know how to rate employees. Their duty is to rate employees according to the company’s expectations and performance standards (Bloom & Van Reenen, 2019). Therefore, a manager’s role includes observation and assessment. The observation and assessment role of the manager in the hiring and appraisal process would be executed in a manner that is in consultation with other players. Despite these consultations, the final decision should be left to the manager demonstrating their autonomy. The prime responsibility of the Human Resource Function is to enable Quality Appraisals by handholding review managers and employees to conduct fair appraisals and transparent conversations. In compensating subordinates, the mangers should not be given autonomy. This is since there is the possibility of abusing this autonomy by a manger. Remuneration needs to be based on performance of the employee and needs to be reviewed by a panel which would ensure that no discrimination against employees is done.
References
Bloom, N., & Van Reenen, J. (2019). Human resource management and productivity. In Handbook of labor economics (Vol. 4, pp. 1697-1767). Elsevier.
James, M. (2022). Improving mangers’ effectiveness. IEEE-USA Seventh Biennial Careers Conference ‘Change & Competitiveness & Careers. doi:10.1109/career.1991.631654
My Former Post and References Previously Used:
Discussion Thread: Managerial Autonomy
Managers should be given a level of autonomy in the workplace concerning personnel decisions involving hiring, promotions, evaluating, and rewarding employees. An organization’s success depends on its leadership and management strategies. Hence, good management is pivotal to ensuring a firm’s success. Good management, however, comes with giving the leaders and managers autonomy to control and guide the organization well. Managers aid in forming a healthy working environment by helping to hire the correct staff and personnel to meet organizational goals and objectives, thus they should be given enough autonomy in making those important decisions.
According to Krane and Van (2019), managerial autonomy refers to giving rights and freedom to managers to make organizational choices and decisions in the workplace. Managers assume a great amount of the responsibility for achieving a company’s goals. Managerial autonomy is healthy and beneficial to an organization since it promotes workplace independence and boosts staff morale and job satisfaction. However, giving too much autonomy comes with a fair share of disadvantages.
Managers can make biased decisions, such as unfairly hiring, firing, or compensating employees, that in turn may lead to organizational failure (Metwally et al., 2019). Therefore, managers should be given limited autonomy to avoid making independent decisions that may lead to an organization’s demise or cause an organization to falter. Personnel decisions in the should not be limited to managers. While managers should be afforded a certain level of autonomy, too much freedom may slow down the decision-making process and it may prove to be detrimental to allow managers to independently make personnel decisions without being required to, at the very least, consult with Human Resources. Managers and Human Resource personnel should work in unison when making personnel decisions. The manager would aid in assessing how the employee fits within the team based on their intellect and talent. The Human Resources team would ensure that organizational rules and regulations are followed to prevent managers from being biased in staffing.
While operating within any given amount of autonomy, managers should be aware of and expected to adhere to applicable rules and regulations regarding personnel decisions. Power without constraint may prove detrimental to the department and the organization. Managers who have complete autonomy are more likely to make incompetent, unfair, or unethical decisions that may harm the organization. Such actions may reduce staff morale, with some employees feeling inferior and vulnerable to the manager’s wrath or may leave the organization vulnerable to lawsuits.
Centralized companies allow managerial autonomy and give managers great freedom and authority over their employees. They have the freedom to hire personnel and promote or terminate them without necessarily having justifiable reasons (Noe et al., 2023). It can lead to biases since the manager is not answerable to anyone, and the organization considers their decisions, whether fair or unfair, as final decisions. Additionally, they can use their autonomy to promote their self-interests outside the organizational principles, code of ethics, and operating procedure.
Managerial autonomy is important in the workplace but should be limited to avoid bias and corruption. The more power given to a manager, the more likely they are to abuse it. Hence, managers should be given freedom enough to be effective and efficient but should operate within certain organizational limits. They must operate within the organizational procedures and alongside other teams, such as the human resource management team (Noe et al., 2023). It will ensure there is no abuse of power in an organization. Therefore, managers should not be given too much power but should be accorded enough power to aid in running an organization effectively and meeting its objectives.
Giving managerial autonomy is important in running an organization as it allows managers to easily make good and important decisions that benefit the company. However, too much freedom creates imbalance as the manager operates without following rules and regulations. From the Christian point of view, good leadership and management come from God, and thus good leaders are selected by God. Good leadership is a result of fearing the Lord and following his commands. God gave man the freedom to live in the world but gave the Ten Commandments, for example, and Scripture as a whole, to provide boundaries and wisdom (Exodus 20:2-17).
References
Krause, T., & Van Thiel, S. (2018). Perceived managerial autonomy in municipally owned corporations: Disentangling the impact of output control, process control, and policy-profession conflict. Public Management Review, 21(2), 187–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2018.1473472
Metwally, D., Ruiz-Palomino, P., Metwally, M., & Gartzia, L. (2019). How ethical leadership shapes employees’ readiness to change: The mediating role of an organizational culture of effectiveness. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02493
Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. (2023). Human Resources Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage, Thirteenth Edition. New York, MA: McGraw-Hill Education.