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Undergraduate HRM Coursework Sample

Published by at April 18th, 2023 , Revised On March 20, 2024

E-HRM will Transform and Improve the Performance of International Human Resource Management Functions in Multi-National Corporations

INTRODUCTION

The current file contains information about the E-HRM. With the changing and globalising world, the traditional functions of organisations are also transforming. Many organisations have replaced their traditional human resource management endeavours with the latest and digitalised practices of E-HRM. The current file contains the critical analysis of the claim that E-HRM is beneficial for multi-national companies and can transform the performance of human resource management functions.

The current research study will investigate and analyse the benefits of E-HRM and how it has the potential to replace traditional HRM practices. The current file contains an introduction, thesis statement, critical analysis and conclusion. The sudden and rapid advancement of the world and the introduction of digitalisation in every aspect of life alerted the standard lifeways of people.

The internet’s introduction in organisations’ functions has impacted and influenced human resource management. It has altered the traditional practices and has introduced the possibilities and significance of E-HRM. The recent survey and observation from the human resource departments revealed that the implementation and adoption of E-HRM are increasing in organisations. More and more multi-national companies are enhancing their ways and methodologies to adopt the E-HRM t gain competitive advantage and efficiency in business. The current research study will critically analyse the significance of E-HRM and conclude that is E-HRM really worth adopting?

 

Thesis statement

A thesis statement is a theoretical proposition that will be critically analysed in the research study. The current research study will investigate the significance of E-HRM and analyses the current thesis statement.

E-HRM will transform and improve the performance of International Human Resource Management functions in multi-national corporations.”

 

What is E-HRM?

“Electronic Human resource management” is the advanced form of Human resource management. It includes integration mechanism and content sharing between information technology and HRM. E-HRM can be termed as the crossover or junction of HRM and IT (Bondarouk&Ruël, 2009). The concept of E-HRM is new and has interested many scholars and researchers.

Numerous definitions and explanations of the latest technology have been put forward. The most acceptable definition of E-HRM has been developed by Bondarouk and Ruël (2009). He defined E-HRM as “an umbrella term covering all possible integration mechanisms and contents between HRM and Information Technologies, aiming at creating value within and across organisations for targeted employees and management”.

Strohmeier (2007) have defined E-HRM as “the planning, implementation and application of IT for both networking and supporting at least two individual or collective actors in their shared performing of HR activities”. The different definition of the concept highlights the vastness of the technology. It is also elaborated as “the application of computers and other telecommunication devices to collect, share, and store organisational and employee data” (Stone et al., 2015). A researcher like Voermans& van Veldhoven (2007) considers E-HRM as “the digitalised method of implementing the traditional HRM< strategies and practices by utilising the web-based channels and networks”.

The definitions of the E-HRM highlight the implementation and significance of the technology. The organisations can use the E-HRM practices to enhance the traditional practices of HRM and increase their productivity. Multi-national companies can use the E-HRM practices to store, collect and share the employee and organisational data with efficiency and affectivity (Parry & Tyson, 2010). For multi-national companies, the E-HRM is divided into three types as per the goal and aims of the organisation. Organisations can implement or adopt the most suitable types of practices. The researchers derive the three types of E-HRM: “operational, relational, and transformational” (Ruël et al., 2004).

E-HRM in Multi-national companies (MNCs)

The literature analysis and critical analysis of the subject study elaborated the fact that E-HRM has the ability and potential to transform the traditional HRM service quality and functions (Kovach et al., 2002). The service quality is observed by the direct customers of the organisation and the internal employees; the E-HRM has the ability to provide customer satisfaction by developing and improving the frontier dealers and managers.

The HRM services are intangible and cannot be stored in the register; this forces the HR representatives to showcase accountability and awareness towards the demands and preferences of the customers (Benson et al., 2002). In such cases, when the customer is expected to actively participate in the HRM service production, it becomes a challenging matter for the management.

The front-line dealers and the HR specialist are required to become more socialised and responsible towards the customers. In such cases, the E-HRM is very effective as it provides a channel for the proper dealing with the customers individually. The channels of E-HRM support the characteristics of HRM services that are “intangibility, customer participation, and reactivity”.

The critical analysis of literature sources also highlighted the claim that adoption of IT in every field is not always significant (Stone et al., 2015).  Ruel & Van der Kaap (2012) claimed that the adoption of E-HRM increased the technological activities of the HR functions. They claim that the adoption of E-HRM does not impose any benefits; instead, it just replaced the traditional methods with advanced ones.

The studies of Dery&Wails (2005) also suggested that E-HRM was the technology only used to replace traditional methods and to aid the front-line managers to socialise and deal with the demanding and individual customers (Reddington & Hyde, 2008). through the analysis of the literature sources, only a few negative outcomes were offered.

However, the claim raised by Dery and Wails (2005) and Reddington & Hyde (2008) does not showcase the negative impact. Rather, it can be termed as a neutral review that E-HRM just replaces the traditional HRM practices, which is the basic goal of the latest technology to overcome or eliminate the traditional or old school methods.

The critical analysis of the implication of E-HRM highlighted the benefits of the technology; initially, it can be used to enhance the performance of the frontline managers as described above. The recent studies have outlined the connection between HRM and IT. Parry (2011) examined the adoption of E-HRM in over 12 countries.

He concluded that the organisations that failed to implement the E-HRM practices were unable to procure the maximum benefits of the technology and achieve the set goals. According to Ruel and Van der Kaap (2012), 55% of the variance of HRM value creation can be facilitated by the implementation of E-HRM. This characteristic compelled the researchers to conduct in-depth research for the potential of E-HRM.

For the successful implementation of E-HRM, the most utilised function is “E-HR planning, E-recruitment, E-training, rewarding HR and protecting HR”.  Strohmeier (2007) analysed and concluded that E-HRM offers a variety of mechanisms that can facilitate the collection, storage, and updating of the information system and data of the organisation and its employees.

The HR data have detailed information about the employees of the organisation. It contains their knowledge, skill, abilities and competencies (Marchington & Wilkinson, 2005).  The system is very effective for the recruitments process because it has a larger capacity to store and collect data. It can be used to cut the recruitment cost and quicken the process.

E-HRM can also be used in favour of multi-national companies through training and development approaches. Benson et al. (2002) suggested that the E-HRM is very efficient in training and development of the employees because the E-training and E-learning systems are designed according to the “time-place independent manner”.

It allows the employees to take the training and learning classes according to their availability, which ultimately encourages them to learn more without feeling overburdened. The utilisation of technology in performance management aid in the growth and development of organisational (Benson et al., 2002). For the training and development of employees, computer-based learning systems are used in E-HRM, which is the diagnostic tools that recognise the weakness and the lacking of employees.

This system also analyses and compares the present skills and competencies of the employees with the required skills and competencies (Rothwell et al., 2005). Apart from E-training and E-learning tools, the E-HRM also implies the E-compensation allows the maintenance of duties and task through the flow of data around the network in a shorter time.

Another significant function of E-HRM is E-Occupational safety and health. The manager and leader in the organisations are aided in risk management. The Electronic system can evaluate the risk associated with the task and aid the manager or team leaders in re-planning the process. This can also help the employees, and they can perform better if they have knowledge of the risk factors in the given task. The knowledge of risk can help the employees to eliminate them and perform better in the given duty or task (Andersen, 2008). To procure the maximum advantages from the E-HRM, Strohmeier (2007) suggests the HRM technologies’ applicable configuration.

In another study, Zareena (2018) studied the effectiveness of E-HRM for multi-national companies and concluded the results that the implementation level of E-HRM is 100% which means that multi-national companies are successfully adopting the new practices. The study concluded that 80% of the HR managers showcase a positive response towards the implementation of the E-HRM strategies.

The remaining 20% of the manager or employees were worried about the error possibility in the technological activities. They claim that if an error arises in the technological web services, the overall work stops. The efficiency of the technology reduces the possibility of error in the electronic system.  Another effective significance observed during the study was that 70% of the employees gained IT knowledge through the E-learning and E-training program of E-HRM, which showcases the potential of the system to train and develop the employees and their performance.

The adoption of E-HRM by multi-national companies also showcases the advancement of the companies, which also heightens the company’s reputation and gives a competitive advantage. The research study of Zareena (2018) highlights the significances of the E-HRM. It supports the statements that E-HRM practices will transform and improve the HRM practice of multi-national companies.

The E-HRM enables the users to analyse and store the data in the record from anywhere; there is no need to be physically present in the office to stir eth data. It allows mobility and enhances the efficiency of work. The people with IT backgrounds are keener to adopt the E-HRM practices, and due to the effectiveness of the e-training function, the non-IT employees of the company are also at ease and happy to adopt new strategies. The critical analysis of the E-HRM reveals that this technology s globally accepted and recognised by multi-national organisations.

Table 1.1 highlight the top five benefits of E-HRM,

Advantages of E-HRM Benefit percentage
Cost-effective 93%
Time effective 91%
Comfort and convenient usage 86%
Ease in Communication 81%
Data Accuracy 78%

Source (Zareena, 2018)

Bondarouk (2015) suggests that the multi-national organisation that aims to implement the E-HRM strategies must have a suitable policy and system.  The lack of policy and suitable methods can result in the failure of the technology. Ruel et al. (2004) have also highlighted the statement that the proper implementation of technology can aid the organisation in yielding maximum benefits.

Through the implementation of E-HRM, the companies can achieve different goals that the researchers summarise. The companies can develop the strategic focus of Human resource management. It can reduce the cost of different practices and also aid in increasing the efficiency of the department. The E-HRM practices also help the organisation in enhancing customer services and customer satisfaction.

After the critical analysis and the literature study of the implication and practices of E-HRM, it can be concluded that the thesis statement is correct. The current research study supports the thesis statement that “E-HRM will transform and improve the performance of International Human Resource Management functions in multi-national corporations“.

The E-HRM is the technology that s altering the HRM strategies and is interlinking it with the IT system. It ensures effective and efficient maintenance of data, better training and development of staff members, and efficient organisation growth. The quick headway of the world and the presentation of digitalisation in each part of life cautioned the standard life methods of individuals.

The presentation of the web in the elements of the associations has affected and impacted the human asset of the board. It has changed the conventional practices and has presented the conceivable outcomes and meanings of E-HRM. The new overview and perception from the human asset divisions uncovered that the execution and reception of E-HRM in expanding in the associations.

An ever-increasing number of worldwide organisations are improving their methodologies and approaches to embrace the E-HRM to acquire the upper hand and productivity in business. For the fruitful execution of E-HRM, the most used capacity is in recruitment and training. E-HRM offer an assortment of instrument that can work with the assortment, stockpiling, and refreshing of the data framework and information of the association and its representatives.

The HR information has definite data about the representatives of the association. It contains their insight, expertise, capacities and abilities. The framework is extremely successful for the enrollments cycle since it can store and gather information. It very well may be utilised to reduce the enlistment expense and stimulate the interaction. E-HRM can likewise be utilised in the blessing of global organisations through preparation and advancement draws near.

Appropriate execution of innovation can help the association in yielding the most extreme advantages. Through the execution of E-HRM, the organisations can accomplish various objectives that scientists sum up. The organisations can foster the essential focal point of the Human asset, the executives. It can decrease the expense of various practices and help in expanding the effectiveness of the division.

The E-HRM rehearses additionally help the association in upgrading the client administrations and consumer loyalty. The E-HRM rehearses utilised by the associations to improve the HRM and increment their usefulness. Global organisations can utilise the E-HRM practices to store, gather, and offer representative and hierarchical information with effectiveness and affectivity.

The critical analysis of the E-HRM practices and significance highlights that E-HRM is the latest and promising technology that can transform traditional Human resources practices. If implemented correctly, the technology can become very effective and beneficial for organisations. The results of the investigating studies revealed that multi-national companies are acquiring and implementing the E-HRM practices to reduce cost, train staff and gain accuracy in data handling. Due to the excessive globalisation and digitalisation in the world, the organisational functions also need alterations. To remain floating in the global competition, multi-national companies need to acquire the latest strategies and technologies.

References

Andersen, B. &Fagerhaug, T. (2002). Performance Measurement Explained: Designing and Implementing Your State-of-the-Art System. USA: The American Society for Quality.

Benson, A. D., Johnson, S. D., &Kuchinke, K. P. (2002). The Use of Technology in the Digital Workplace: A Framework for Human Resource Development. Advances in Developing Human Resources. 4(4),pp: 392-404.

Bondarouk, T. (2015) “Does e-HRM lead to better HRM service?” The International Journal of Human Resource Management 28(9).

Bondarouk, T. V., Looise, J. C., &Lempsink, B. (2009). Framing the implementation of HRM innovation: HR professionals vs line managers in a construction company. Personnel Review, 38, 472–491.

Bondarouk, T., &Furtmueller-Ettinger, E. (2012). Electronic Human Resource Management: Four Decades of Empirical Evidence.

Bondarouk, T., &Ruël, H. J. M. (2009). Electronic Human Resource Management: Challenges in the digital era. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20, 505-514.

Dery, K., &Wailes, N. (2005). Necessary but not sufficient: ERPs and strategic HRM. Strategic Change, 14, 265–272.

Hopkins, B. & Markham, J. (2003). E-HR: Using Intranets to Improve the Effectiveness of Your People. Hampshire, England: Gower Publishing Limited.

Kovach, K. A., Hughes, A. A., Fagan, P., &Maggitti, P. G. (2002). Administrative and strategic advantages of HRIS. Employment Relations Today, 29, 43–48.

Marchington, M. & Wilkinson, A. (2005). Human Resource Management at Work: People Management and Development. Third Edition, London: Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) Publishing.

Parry, E., Tyson, S. (2010). Desired goals and actual outcomes of e-HRM. Human Resources Management Journal.

Reddington, M., & Hyde, C. (2008). The impact of e-HR on line managers and employees in the UK: Benefits, problems, and prospects. In G. Martin, M. Reddington, & H. Alexander (Eds.), Technology, outsourcing & transforming HR (pp. 135–159). Amsterdam: Elsevier

Rothwell, W. J., Jackson, R. D., Knight, S., & Lindholm, J. (2005). Career Planning and Succession Management: Developing Your Organisation’s Talent for Today and Tomorrow. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc

Ruël H., Bondarouk T., Looise J. K., (2004). E-HRM: Innovation or Irritation. Management Review, 15(3), 364-379.

Snell, S. A., Stueber, D., &Lepak, D. P. (2001). Virtual HR Department: Getting out of the Middle. Cornell University ILR School. Retrieved 2011-02-17 from http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1070&context=cahrs wp

Stone, D. L., Deadrick, D. L., Lukaszewski, K. M., & Johnson, R. (2015). The influence of technology on the future of human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 25, 216–231.

Strohmeier, S. (2007) “Research in e-HRM: Review and implications,” Human Resource Management Review 17(1).

Strohmeier, S. (2007). Research in e-HRM: Review and implications. Human Resource Management Review, 17, 19-37.

Strohmeier, S. (2009). Concepts of e-HRM consequences: A categorisation, review and suggestion. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20, 528–543.

Voermans, M., & van Veldhoven, M. (2007). Attitude towards E‐HRM: An empirical study at Philips. Personnel Review, 36, 887–902.

Zareena, D. (2018). ADOPTION OF E-HRM IN MULTI-NATIONAL COMPANIES. International Journal Of Mechanical Engineering And Technology (IJMET)9(9), 1127-1130. doi: 0976-6359

E-HRM stands for Electronic Human Resource Management, which refers to using digital technologies and systems to manage various HR functions within an organization.

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