Managing Human Resources Employers

Question: Discuss about theManaging Human Resources for Employers. Answer: Introduction The report essentially tends to evaluate the practice of the employers and the business managers in using the social networking mediums for gaining access to personal information about the recruits and also other employees operating in the business institution. The employers tend to evaluate the comments generated by the employees on their social networking pages and also studies the interactions made by the employees with their colleagues and friends where they have generated comments about the company. Employers and managers based on the above information tend to take decisions regarding recruitment, retention and retrenchment of employees. The report focuses on evaluating the above practices of employers and managers based on the use of ethical and stakeholder theories and other empirical human resources management models. Use of Ethical and Stakeholder Theories Utilitarian Ethical Theory From the point of view of Utilitarian Theory of Ethics the use of social media networking platforms by the employers for gaining confidential information about the employees contributes in generating potential benefits to the business institutions. The same is reflected as follows. Cost-Effective Medium The social media networking mediums contribute in generating cheaper platforms for generation of recruitment related advertisements by the business institutions. Similarly, the social media platforms also contribute in helping the business managers and employers conduct secondary or cross checks of the individuals that are focused on being recruited in the organisation. The above activity would help the employers in checking the authenticity of the recruits and the information furnished on the resume. Similarly, it also helps the company managers and employers to potentially evaluate whether the applicant would be able to match the cultural parameters of the business institution (Brunori, Malandrin, Rossi, 2012). Generation of Realistic Expectations The social media networking tools act as effective mediums that encourage both the employees and the employers to gain realistic information in a mutual fashion. The same contributes in helping the employees understand the expectations and cultures of the firms while the company gains the potential in evaluating the potential of the individual employee to match the expectations of the different job roles in the business institution (Zafar Lodhi, 2015). Development of Brand Building Opportunities for Employer Social media networking tools also contribute in serving as effective word-of-mouth communication and brand building tools for the employer. The individuals having Facebook accounts tend to share advertisements generated by the business institutions regarding vacancies. The sharing of such vacancy related advertisements and posts by individuals further contribute in helping the company gain an effective pool of manpower resources from the larger market and also build up needed awareness regarding vacancy positions available to the company (Lauer Cohenour, 2014). Deontological Theory of Ethics However, from the point of view of Kantian Ethical Theory or from the viewpoint of Deontological Ethics the practice of the employers and managers for searching private and personal information of the employees from their social media networking pages is considered illegal and immoral in nature. The employers and managers are required to abstain from the practices concerning coercive means for gaining personal information about the employees and thereby in taking decisions concerning recruiting and retaining employees (Zhang, 2015). Stakeholder Theory Instrumental Stakeholder Theory The instrumental stakeholder theory ideally requires the business institutions for engaging the different stakeholders regarding the generation of salient information concerning generation of vacancies and also other information associated with changes in organisational and human resources policies. The involvement of potential stakeholders regarding the generation of effective information potentially contributes in encouraging needed support(Gonzalez-Padron, 2016). Normative Stakeholder Theory The normative stakeholder theory ideally requires the managers and employers to work in an ethical fashion such that they are required to abstain from gaining personal information about the employees from different social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter without generating prior information to the concerned parties. The use of the personal information concerning the employees without informing them for taking of recruitment and retention decisions tends to potentially affect the privacy of the concerned parties (Bowen, 2013). Right of Employers in Gleaning Information Some critics argue that employers do have rights in gaining access to private information about their employees based on using the social media networking tools like Facebook and Twitter. However, some argue that employers do gain rights in retrieving personal information about the employees and staffs from the social media networking platforms only in the case of an effective breach of contractual agreement or in cases of severe issues affecting the goodwill of the firm. Employers focusing on accessing potential information about their employees from the social media platforms are required to effectively inform the employees such that the same contributes in meeting the transparency and ethical objectives of the organisation(Johnson, 2014). The employers and business managers can essentially focus on discouraging the use of social media by employees and staffs within the working hours based on the incorporation of effective monitoring standards. The employers and business managers t hus gain rights for monitoring the activities of employees in the social media network platforms within the working hours. Certain cases have been highlighted from time to time where the employers and managers tend to view and monitor the postings and comments generated by the staffs beyond the working hours. The posts generated by employees in the social networking platforms rebuking or criticising their employers or managers are observed to potentially affect their careers and scope of tenure within the organisation (Yang Jiang, 2014). Employers and managers that came through such posts generated by the employees in the social media platforms had taken resort of the employment law for suing the staffs. The same requires the managers and employers of the business institutions for effectively informing the staffs and employees regarding right kind of conducts along the social networking platforms. The Privacy Act of Australia requires the employers to furnish needed information to the employees and staffs suggesting the rationale for which they have accessed the personal social networking platforms of the staffs. Further, the different types of information gathered by the employers from the social networking pages of the employees are required to be ideally discussed with the concerned employees for reducing the chances of future conflicts (Angle Slote, 2013). The employers and managers are also required by the law for not suggesting friends to the employees and staffs to be added in their social networking pages. Similarly, the employers focusing on gaining needed information about their employees from the social networking platforms are also required to inform the staffs about other people that would be able to see the same. Thus, it is needed by the employers and managers to act in a transparent fashion and also generate considerable awareness regarding the information retrieved from the social media networking pages of the employees (Athanassoulis, 2013) . Use of Social Networking Sites in a Win-Win Fashion Pluralism and Unitarism The mode of usage of the social networking sites by the employees for interacting in a mutual fashion with friends, colleagues and peers can be converted in a win-win situation by the employers in terms of operating based on the Pluralism aspect. The Unitarism aspect in human resources management requires both the employees and the management to see each other in a unified fashion blended for meeting the objectives of the organisation (Calkins, 2014). The Unitarism aspect thereby requires the managers and employees to follow a single agenda. The managers operating based on a Pluralist policy however honour the different needs and demands of employees. The Pluralists however require that some standards or conducts are needed to be followed by both the managers and employees for the interest and betterment of the organisation. The Pluralists also opine that the powers or authority for voicing and opining are required to be shared in an effective fashion rather than to be concentrated i n the hands of few (Austin, 2013). The above discussion associated with Pluralism and Unitarism can be potentially applied to the case such that the institutional managers based on the aspect of Pluralism firstly need to understand and respect the views and perceptions of the different employees regarding organisational policies and conducts. Secondly, the managers are required to effectively compromise with the employees based on the introduction of such regulations and standards that would encourage them to work mutually for the betterment of the firm (Wheeler, 2013). The managers thus need to make the employees understand the problems regarding their commenting about the organisation, managers and workplaces in social networking mediums like Facebook that can be viewed easily by the public. The generation of needed awareness and understanding would help in easily restraining the people from generating opinions regarding the activities and policies of the organisation (Angle Slote, 2013). Strategic HRM The organisational managers and the employers are required to influence the social networking activity of the employees through the mode of operating based on the tenets of strategic human resources management. The managers are required to focus on the development of mission and vision objectives and statements that would help in developing an enhancing a sense of mutual trust and confidence between different parties in the organisation (Russell, 2013). Further, development of organisational values and cultures enhancing the sharing of information and informal communication practices increasingly contribute in shaping and governing the activities of the employees regarding opining about their managers and the organisational rules and conducts. Generation of incentives related to their performances in meeting of business, customer servicing and organisational objectives further boosts the confidence and loyalty of the organisational members (Frding, 2012). Relational Psychological Contracts Psychological contracts both relational and transactional are operational at the workplace such that the employees that are governed by transactional motives are essentially motivated in fulfilling the objectives of the roles and tasks assigned to them. On the contrary, the employees influenced by relational psychological contracts are essentially influenced by emotions, feelings, sentiments and perceptions they tend to share among others and also for the larger organisation. The employees that are observed to be influenced by psychological contracts tend to protest against the organisational policies requiring them to work for extra hours and also regarding the managerial and employer conducts (Russell, 2013). These employees seek social media platforms like Facebook for openly protesting and opining against the organisational rules and conducts and enjoy discussing the same with their friends and colleagues. The organisational managers and employers are thus required to consult wit h the employees influenced by relational psychological contracts such that the same helps in optimising on their levels of affective commitment in meeting the goals of the organisation with due passion (Boje, 2015). High Commitment HRM In terms of practicing high commitment human resources management the organisational members are required to potentially focus on encouraging increased employee participation and involvement in the organisation. The managers are required to potentially focus on sharing of potential information concerning changes in rules and conducts and also business practices and mission and vision philosophy with the employees (Herring, 2013). Further, the organisational managers are required to continually encourage the employees for generation of their individual and group decisions regarding fulfilment of business and organisational objectives. The above practice would potentially contribute in enhancing the loyalty and commitment of the organisational members and also restrain them from generation of protests regarding decisions taken by the managers and employers. The same would thus reduce the practices of employees in generating negative opinions and protests on social networking sites (Joh nstone, 2015). Human Capital The organisational managers and employers are required to treat the human resources as effective or potential manpower capital which acts as life blood for the business institution. The employers and business managers are required to effectively understand the needs and expectations of its employee groups and thus generate considerable investment for helping in the rendering of training and enhancement of knowhow of the employees (Burkhardt Nathaniel, 2013). Further, the understanding of employees as human capital for the firm also requires the employer and the manager to enhance the level of transparency in the institution such that the same helps in taking decisions in a concerted fashion and reduces restraints. The human resources practices of the organisation are required to be developed for helping the employees earn the benefit of work-life balance policies introduced in the organisation. Further, the employers and managers are required the employees to understand the career g rowth in the organisation which in turn enhances their commitment and performance level of the employees (Morris, 2015). Knowledge Management The employers and organisational managers are also required to potentially focus on the incorporation of the social media platforms like Facebook and also different blogs for sharing of effective knowledge resources between the organisational members working both with regional and overseas frontiers (Peterson, 2013). The use of social media platforms for dissemination of information and knowledge resources to organisational members along different levels and units both operating within domestic and international frontiers also contributes in potentially interacting with the people for understanding their views and feedbacks. The above practice would thereby help in cultivating a win-win framework regarding the usage of social media networking tools by employees for interacting with their peers, colleagues and senior managers for gaining of needed knowledge inputs and information (Suikkanen, 2014). Conclusions The analysis carried out in the report potentially evaluates that the practices of the employers and managers regarding gaining of private and confidential information of employees from their personal Facebook accounts is not ethical in nature. The same tends to potentially affect the privacy of the employees. Facebook is however identified as an effective medium that is used by the employers for not only advertising their vacancies but also in evaluating the culture fit of the employees with the organisational and workplace culture. Similarly, the social media networking platforms ideally help the business institution in not only enhancing their level of transparency concerning the publishing of effective information but also in dissemination of knowledge resources to the different employees in the organisation. 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