This gave me a wee smile.
James G, who blogs at Whatsthatsmell, is presumably doing a management qualification:
There is so much to say but so much to do. One of the main issues for my non-blogging is that I have been busy at work and I have schoolwork piling up. And the reason the schoolwork is piling up is because it is Human Resources Management this quarter. And I cannot get excited about it at all…
Neither can a lot of the people who work in it, James, so I wouldn’t worry too much.
HR Management is a function run for the benefit of the PC police….
Hang on a minute, you’re making it sound much more exciting than it really is.
[It] usually has overblown contentions about its own effectiveness and how it can be a strategic partner to the business…
Ah, now don’t get me started on that.
It’s all a load of tosh…
Now here’s where you’re wrong, James. If it was all a load of tosh, companies would have dumped their HR functions years ago. OK, maybe some HR people and quite a few HR lecturers are a load of tosh but the need for a good HR function is now probably stronger than ever and, if you have a management role, you need to deal with HR people and get them working for you. That approach can be surprisingly productive.
Have a great weekend anyway, James. Oh, of course, you won’t because you’ll be reading HR books while the rest of us are out enjoying the sun.
Rick –
Nice response! Thanks for setting the record straight.
“Wee” smile. Sounds interesting. Explain how it’s done, Rick.
Rick,
Thanks for the rejoinder…Made me laugh!
Yes, I’m doing a bachelor’s in Business with a concentration on Finance. I’ve done all my concentration courses, and now it’s mop-up on the core courses. HR this quarter, Organizational Communication next and then a Capstone simulation for my final.
I actually do appreciate that an effective HR function can go a long way. I’ve just never encountered one in my working life (which isn’t to say that they aren’t out there). In fact, I think that’s one of the (many) reasons I’m a freelancer rather than a permie.
There’s nothing like working for a company that makes an announcement that, thanks to your region’s efforts, the global company has realised record profit margins, and then to be told on the very next day that there is no money in the kitty for pay rises or bonuses for your region. (But then, maybe that’s a case of shooting the messenger, to consider that an HR gaffe…) I suppose that if a company paid more than lip service to the hackneyed “people are our greatest asset” platitude, then HR would be an effective function.
Anyhow…I’m off to write a help wanted add for a toy designer in a small university town in the US South. Wish me luck…
Sorry, thought HR meant hormone replacement (maybe it does, in a way). Certainly true that there’s not enough good management of people.