Human resource management and Contemporary Issues †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Human resource management and Contemporary Issues. Answer: Introduction: This article focuses on the problems that are experienced in companies when employees go on maternity leave. The article focuses on the outcomes of the move by Ottawa to increase maternity leave to 35 from the current ten. This effectively means that companies will be forced to hold in reserve the jobs for such employees. The article singles out one company, Monsanto Canada and its practice with regards to temporary filling in positions during pregnancies. The article appears on the Canadian Business, dated 8 September, 2011 and written by Jasmine Budak. It is titled "The dark side of maternity leave. Question two- Organization concerned At Monsanto Canada, the company does not temporarily fill in the position of senior managers when they go on maternity leave (Budak, 2011). Everyone is expected to take on more responsibility and this especially affects the managers. This breeds problems of morale at the company which can be spotted easily but are problematic in treating. Two concepts are being explained: employee benefits and management levels. Employee benefits which include maternity leave refer to the benefits which are non-wage and form part of remuneration. It also touches on the leadership pipeline concept that builds, develops and maintains a pool of skilled leaders within a company. The maternity leave benefit is helpful in building employee commitment to the company as their welfare is taken into consideration (Bratton Gold, 2007). While it is beneficial to the employee, it presents special challenges for the company. This is especially seen where the employee involved had higher levels of responsibility and training. Some jobs are so technical that they require employees to be trained every six months. Replacing such an employee is expensive since the temporary replacement will incur costs during training. Additional costs are also incurred when the employee returns and has to be retrained. Filling positions for senior managers therefore becomes untenable some times for most companies. The concept of management levels within the parameters of leadership pipelines is another human resources management principle (Armstrong, 2010). It states that companies should seek to develop and maintain a pool of managers internally as a long-term strategy. The pool of managers should be built in the different departments so as to fill temporary vacancies when they arise. This is based on the supposition that the option to hire external executives is temporary and for the short-term. This concept is helpful in the process of leadership development and planning for succession within companies. Question five- Suggestions about HRM practice What happens at Monsanto Canada is both good and problematic. It is a good human resources management approach with regards to making provision for maternity leave. This helps to build staff motivation, morale and commitment within the company. At the same time, the practice of not filling in the positions of senior managers is problematic. Bratton (2012), stats that tt shows that their HR management has gaps in management levels with poor leadership development and continuity. This practice breeds problems of low morale as well as overworking the remaining employees. This may affect the productivity of the company or result in some employees leaving the company. Several questions emerge as a future practitioner of human resources. The first issue is that of balancing the requirements of the law with company policy so as not to disturb the equilibrium of the company (Sims, 2007). When the law extends the maternity leave from 10 to 35, this should call for internal consultations with employees in order to come to a negotiated compromise that will not disrupt the operations at the company. Ideally the employee should be able to resume work while working at home within the 35 week window. This would pressure of work for the remaining employees. The other question is that of giving financial incentives for the remaining employees who are tasked with picking up the slack. The giving of financial incentives may reduce the problems of lack of morale when other employees are on maternity leave. This too should a negotiated matter and may be incorporated in as company policy. Sammer (2016), states that the other alternative is to temporary promote a junior staffer into the office with the full benefits of the office for the duration they will hold it. This can be done with anticipatory training for such an employee, since pregnancy is can be planned for. Such a policy when considered and employed can significantly reduce problems when senior staff goes on maternity leave. References Armstrong, M. (2010). Armstrong's essential human resource management practice: A guide to people management. London: Kogan Page. Bratton, J. (2012). Human Resource Management. Palgrave Macmillan. Bratton, J., Gold, J. (2007). Human resource management: Theory and practice. New York, N.Y: Palgrave. Budak, J. (2011). The Dark side of Maternity Leave. Retrieved from https://www.canadianbusiness.com/business-strategy/the-dark-side-of-maternity-leave/ Sammer, J. (2016). How to weigh the Value of Paid Parental Leave. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/paid-parental-leave-value.aspx Sims, R. R. (2007). Human resource management: Contemporary issues, challenges, and opportunities. Charlotte, N.C: IAP-Information Age Pub.