There has been a prolonged debate among the scholarly world on the HRM or the Human Resource Management approach over the employees. Noe et al (2006) have asserted on the changing organizational environment, and with it changes the operational strategy. As Noe et al (2006) stated, “it has been found that the traditional autocratic approach towards the employee management has been direly changing, and with the next few decades the organizations around the world would adapt to more balanced or in other words, ‘democratic approach towards their workforces.” Understanding this notion asserted by the authors in the early 2006, the prediction put forth by them has now been evident to be emerging as the new approach in most of the organizations, and even the companies, which once had the traditional autocratic culture are now changing their entire strategy towards democratic or in other words more soft in order to increase the rate of employee satisfaction and retention.
Guest (2011) in his journal have posited the growing significance of humanistic approach, and at the same time he is also saying that there is a crucial role of instrumental approach as well during the management process. According to him, “shelving the instrumental approach totally would be counterproductive; in fact there is a necessity in these when it comes to disciplinary actions.” On the other side he also asserted that, “understanding the current growth perspective of the organizations around the world, it becomes apparent that majority of the organization has humanistic approach as the base, and it is this approach that is driving prosperity for the organization.” Kehoe and Wright (2013), have stated the same what Guest (2011) have asserted; that more than 87.7% of the companies that have a greater growth and employee retention percentage are using humanistic approach. It is also important to establish at this point that higher performance of the organization and humanistic approach are highly correlated (Kehoe and Wright, 2016).
In order to understand the rate of inclination towards Human Resource Management’s soft approaches, a survey was conducted with a sample of ten of the students within the class. And a series of questions was asked to them to understand their perspective on it. It is important to consider their view as crucial; since most of them would be choosing a job or hold position in the future, and their notion would be in operation when the time comes. There are mainly three questions asked each of the individuals of the chosen sample, and they are;
- Do you think soft or a humanistic approach of HRM towards the work force would bring forth employee retention and satisfaction? (Yes/No)
- Do you think that an instrumental or a hard approach is significant for the growth of the organization? (Yes/No)
- Which one would you choose if you are to hold a position of an HR manager? (Instrumental/Humanistic)
According to the results, 8 out of 10 or the 80% of the members from the sample group have supported the humanistic approach over the instrumental. 80% of the members have affirmed that humanistic approach of HRM towards the workforce would bring forth employee retention and satisfaction, as same as the Guest (2011) have asserted in his journal. While 90% of the members have said that instrumental approach has a significant part in the organization’s growth, and this can also be associated with the notion posited by Guest (2011). However, 80% of the members have said that they would choose humanistic over the instrumental when they hold a responsible position.
Understanding these perspectives, it becomes clearer that there is a steady increase in the usage of humanistic approach over the instrumental approach; however, the significance of instrumental approach in crucial organizational scenarios is inevitable.
References:
Kehoe, R. R., & Wright, P. M. (2013). The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Journal of management, 39(2), 366-391.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2006). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage.
