工商管理专业英语有关英语论文及翻译.docx

工商管理专业英语有关英语论文及翻译.docx

《工商管理专业英语有关英语论文及翻译.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《工商管理专业英语有关英语论文及翻译.docx（10页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

工商管理专业英语有关英语论文及翻译

Benchmarkingofhumanresourcemanagementinthe

Publicsector:

Prospects,problemsandchallenges

DavidMAkinnusi

Organisational/IndustrialPsychologyandHumanResourcesManagement

NorthWestUniversity

SouthAfrica

Correspondenceto:

DavidMAkinnusi

e-mail:

david.akinnusi@nwu.ac.za

ABSTRACT

Thispaperreviewstheroleofhumanresourcemanagement（HRM）which,today,playsastrategicpartnershiproleinmanagement.ThefocusofthepaperisonHRMinthepublicsector,wheremuchhoperestsonHRMasameansoftransformingthepublicserviceandachievingmuchneededservicedelivery.However,acriticalevaluationofHRMpracticesinthepublicsectorrevealsthattheseservicesleavemuchtobedesired.ThepapersuggeststheadoptionofbenchmarkingasaprocesstorevampHRMinthepublicsectorsothatitisabletodeliveronitspromises.ItdescribesthenatureandprocessofbenchmarkingandhighlightstheinherentdifficultiesinapplyingbenchmarkinginHRM.Itconcludeswithsomesuggestionsforaplanofaction.Theprocessofidentifying“best”practicesinHRMrequiresthebestcollaborativeeffortsofHRMpractitionersandacademicians.Ifusedcreatively,benchmarkinghasthepotentialtobringaboutradicalandpositivechangesinHRMinthepublicsector.Theadoptionofthebenchmarkingprocessis,initself,alitmustestoftheextenttowhichHRMinthepublicsectorhasgrownprofessionally.

Keywords:

benchmarking,benchmarkingprocess,humanresourcemanagement,publicsector,publicsectormanagement

Inanyorganisedhumanactivity,humanbeingsnaturallytakeprecedenceoverotherresources,asitistheyandtheyalonewhoarecapableofdirectingandutilisingotherresources.Effectivehumanresourcemanagement（HRM）has,therefore,becomecrucialandcriticaltotheachievementofindividual,organisational,community,nationalandinternationalgoalsandobjectives.Ironically,eventhoughhumanbeingsarewidelyconsideredasthemostimportantassetsofanyorganisationornation,theirdevelopment,motivationandutilisationhavenotalwaysoccupiedthecentralplaceinmanagement（Bendix,1996,p.4-10）.Inthehistoryofmanagementthought,theneglectofthehumansideofenterprisebroughtthescientificschoolofmanagementtoitskneesandledtotheriseofthehumanrelationsandthebehaviouralschoolsofthoughtwhichfirmlysucceededinputtinghumanbeingsasthecoreofmanagement（Carrell,Elbert&Hartfield,1995）.Inthepracticalworld,thecommodificationorde-personalisationofhumanbeingsduringtheindustrialrevolutionwasalsoassociatedwiththeriseoftradeunionmovements,leadingtogovernmentinterventionsandregulationsandtheemergenceoflabourrelationsandpersonneladministrationasfieldsofstudy（Bendix,1995,p.7）.Inthe1990s,personnelmanagementmetamorphosedintohumanresourcemanagementinclearrecognitionofitsstrategicroleintheoverallperformanceoforganisations（Authur,1994;Cascio,1995;Huselid,1995;Gerber,Nel&vanDyk,1998）.

THESTATEOFHRMINSOUTHAFRICA

ThehistoryofSouthAfrica,risingfromtheashesoftheapartheidregime,isrepletewithcasesofpoorHRM,tothepointofconstrictingitsdevelopmentmorethanadecadeafteritsindependence（DeputyPresident,PhumzileMlambo-Ngcuka,2006）.TheDeputyPresidentwhilelaunchingtheJointInitiativeforPrioritySkillsAcquisition（JIPSA）remarkedthat:

Nothingshortofaskillsrevolutionbyanationunitedwillextricateusfromthecrisesweface.Weareaddressinglogjams,someofwhicharesystemicandthereforeinsomecasesentrenchedeveninpost-apartheidSouthAfrica.Thesystemicnatureofsomeofourchallengesundermineourexcellentnewpolicies,atleastintheshortterm,hencetheneedforinterventionssuchasJIPSAtoenhanceimplementationofourpolicies（http:

//www.info.gov.za/speeches/2006/06032810451001.htm）

Historically,SouthAfricahasperformedverypoorlyinpracticallyallthecriteriaontheliabilitysideofhumanresourcesbalancesheetasmeasuredbytheWorldCompetitivenessRatings（1998,1999）.Someoftheseincludeequalopportunity,skilledlabour,Aids,workermotivation,braindrain,unemployment,alcoholanddrugabuse,valuesofthesociety,illiteracy,dependencyratio,humandevelopmentindexandcompetentmanagers.Thefieldoflabourrelations（LR）,likeitshumanresourcescounterpart,reflectsthecountry’ssocio-politicalhistorywhichwascharacterisedbydeepdivisionsalongracialandpoliticallines,discrimination,unfairlabourpracticesandgrossdistortionsinthelabourmarketsystems,resultinginseriousconfrontationsbetweenthesocialpartnersandperennialindustrialunrest（Bendix,1996,p.71-104）.

ThesestarkrealitieshavepromptedthedemocraticgovernmenttoenactaseriesoflawsdesignedtobringradicalchangesintheareasofHRMandlabourrelations.Someoftheseinclude:

●OccupationalHealthandSafetyActNo85of1993

●LabourRelationsAct66of1995andLabourRelationsAmendmentActNo127of1998

●SouthAfricanQualificationsActNo58of1995

●BasicConditionsofEmploymentActNo104of1997

●EmploymentEquityActNo.55of1998

●SkillsDevelopmentActNo97of1998

●SkillsDevelopmentLeviesActNo.9of1999

●PromotionofEqualityandthePreventionofUnfairDiscriminationAct4of2000

●WhitePaperonHumanResourceManagementinthePublicService,2000

TheintentionoftheseActswastocreateahealthy,humane,justandequitableworkplaceorsociety,freefromdiscriminationandoppressionandinwhichpeopleandworkersareeducatedandcontinuouslytrainedtomeetthechallengesofnationaldevelopmentandglobalisationinapeacefulindustrialclimate.In2006,thenationlaunchedtheJointInitiativeonPrioritySkillsAcquisition（JIPSA）todevelopskillsthataremosturgentlyneededaspartoftheAcceleratedandSharedGrowthInitiativeforSouthAfrica（AsgiSA）,whichwastopropelSouthAfricaatadevelopmenttrajectoryof6%GDPby2010.TheimplementationandtherealisationoftheseActsandinitiativesrequire,amongotherthings,managersand,especially,humanresourceprofessionals,whoseresponsibilityitistoeffectivelymanagethehumanresourcesoftheirorganisations.Foritsownpart,theSouthAfricanBoardofPersonnelPracticehasproposedabill,theHumanResourceProfessionBill（2005）,whichintendstoprofessionalisethepracticeofHRMinSouthAfrica.

ThefocusofthispaperisonHRMinthepublicsector,wherethechallengesaremostacutelyfelt.TheGovernmentWhitePaperonHumanResourceManagementinthePublicService（2000）notesthatnationaldepartmentsandprovincialadministrationsemployapproximately1,2millionpeople,whoaccountformorethan50%ofallpublicexpenditure.Itdeclaresthat“peoplearethereforethePublicService’smostvaluableasset,andmanaginghumanresourceseffectivelyandstrategicallymustbethecornerstoneofthewidertransformationofthePublicService”.Appropriately,GovernmenthasembracedtheshiftoffocusfrompersonneladministrationtoHRM.Therefore,Government’svisionofHRMinthePublicServiceisthatitwill“resultinadiverse,competentandwell-managedworkforce,capableof,andcommittedto,deliveringhighqualityservicestothepeopleofSouthAfrica”.ItfurtherstressedthatthepracticeofHRMwouldbeunderpinnedbythefollowingvalueswhichderivefromtheConstitution:

fairness,accessibility,transparency,accountability,participationandprofessionalism.

However,theWhitePaperonHumanResourceManagementinthePublicService（2000）wasquicktopointouttheinadequaciesandout-datedpracticesofHRMinthepublicsector,describingvariousaspectsofitinthefollowingways:

（Itis）over-centralised,excessivelybureaucraticandrule-bound.Itisfocusedonformratherthansubstanceandresults.Humanresourceplanningisweak;post-fillingandpromotioncriteriaover-emphasizeeducationalqualificationsandseniorityandlittleornoemphasisisplacedontherequirementsofthejobtobedone.Performancemanagementisalsounderdeveloped.

AlltheseinadequaciesandtheracialimbalancesimplymeanthatGovernment’savoweddesiretotransformpublicservicedeliverybyputtingpeoplefirst（viathe“BathoPeleprinciples”）wouldbegreatlyfrustratedbyaninefficientandineffectivemanagement,ingeneral,andlacklustrestateofhumanresourcemanagement,inparticular.

Morethanadecadeafterindependence,thestateofHRMinSouthAfricahasnotchangedasdrasticallyasexpectedateitherthemacroormicrolevel.Thisisduetoanumberoffactorsincludingthefollowing（Gerber,NelandvanDyk,1998;Bowmaker-Falconer,Horwitz,Jain&Taggar,1998;WhitePaperonHRM,2000;Horwilt,Browning,Jain&Steenkamp,2002;

1.Reluctancebycorporationstoembracetransformationandmajorchangesimpliedorrequiredbythevariouslegislations.

2.Reluctanceonthepartoftradeunionstobuyintotheperceivedcapitalistagendaofthenewgovernment,leadingtoashakyalliancebetweengovernmentanditsalliancepartners,theCongressofSouthAfricanTradeUnions（Cosatu）andSouthAfricanCommunistParty（SACP）.

3.Fearofreversediscriminationbywhites,sparkingoffemigrationinlargenumbersandleadingtoonlymodestgainsintheareaofemploymentequityanddiversitymanagement.

Inshort,althoughSouthAfricaisarmedwithformidablelegislativearmourytocreateahumanesocietyandorganisationalenvironmentsconducivetoHRM,thefactremainsthatitwilltakemanymoreyearstoundothelegacyofapartheidin“creatingstructuralinequalitiesintheacquisitionof