History has posed important challenges to the management of human resources in labor relations, which it has had to overcome in order to adapt to the needs and expectations of the actors that make up the system. As these constitute a key factor in production processes and on a daily basis, organizations make great efforts to adapt to changing conditions that permanently challenge the competitiveness of the company and its positioning in local, national or international markets.
The external pressures for the implementation of these changes, not only include technology, production strategies and marketing, they also affect the quality, quantity and knowledge of internal human resources, to face these changes and place the company on levels competitiveness that allows them to stay and grow. That is why in the light of the new realities, that model based on the interest in production, by management, without considering the human element has lost its validity. Today's managerial practices tend to favor the human condition of the worker.
Likewise, Dombois and Pries refer that in Latin America companies establish new labor policies in order to adapt to current conditions, such as more flexible employment (fixed-term contracts and dismissals), more flexible work (integration of tasks, expansion and reduction of categories and the suppression of restrictive mobility rules) and participation and social integration, to distort the relations between the administration or management and the workers (Dombois and Pries, 1998: 69-72).
This implies for the company, in many cases, the need to make internal and external adaptations to adapt to the technology, which at the same time modifies the profile of skills required by the worker who operates the technology, the working conditions and employment, the risks implicit in the production process. Hence, Venezuelan organizations require strategies that allow them to participate effectively in the global space. Therefore, it is necessary to have a willing and trained staff to establish and achieve goals, making adequate use of other resources.
In this sense, Naím (1989) has made reference to the importance of personnel by stating that there can be no successful organization that does not adequately manage its human resources. In short, it requires changes at the level of the structure of the company to face the market; changes in the organization of work in order to adapt the management of technology to production requirements and changes in the qualifications and skills required of the worker.
Therefore, this essay aims to carry out a critical analysis about the Role of Human Resources Management in Venezuela. It will be discussed in the different aspects or management policies immersed in the conception of this reality: area of recruitment, selection, performance evaluation, training and remuneration.
A LITTLE HISTORY
In its long history until the early 19th century, human resource management developed relatively slowly. It is in this century that Robert Owen, a pioneer in the application of personal practices, emerged. Owen, in England, showed that it was not necessary to build industry on cheap labor and worker abuse. It paved the way for industrial legislation, emphasizing the welfare and training of workers, and drawing up housing plans for them, among other things. In fact, George (1974) considers that Owen "could easily be called the father of modern personnel management." (p.60).
The beginnings of the administration of human resources in Venezuela coincide with the exploitation of oil. With the arrival in the country of the oil multinationals, administrative techniques and practices also arrived; among them, those related to personnel management. The eighties are characterized by the appearance of human resources management in the country. Important changes begin to occur, as a greater interest in the worker as a person is perceived.
Human resources management begins to have a greater concern for maintaining cordial and satisfactory relationships with its workers. It deepens and wants to improve on topics such as employee motivation, interpersonal communication, career planning and compensation, among others. In the nineties, the strategic nature of personnel management began to be raised and debated. It is the various changes in the national and international environment that motivate Venezuelan organizations to realize that something was happening in the field of people management. (Monteferrante, 2004).
THE CURRENT REALITY
At the present time, some practices of human resources management predominate in the Venezuelan organization. These practices, in the areas of recruitment, selection, performance evaluation, training and compensation, are mentioned below. (Monteferrante and Malavé, 2004; and Granell, 1997).
Recruitment.
Excess supply of qualified personnel. Increasing use of the internet as a recruiting channel. Spontaneous candidates or applicants who appear in the offices of the employer, or in the organization, in general. It should be noted that in the mid-1990s, and still today, many organizations used visits to educational institutions, such as universities and technical institutes, for recruitment purposes. Internal promotion was also widely used in the nineties.
Selection
The interview continues to be the most widely used technique. It should be mentioned that in the eighties, as Garbi and Piñango (1988) mention, the use of the final interview was generalized, since as the last stage of the selection process, it was the main decision element. Required profile: professionals who combine technical skills, knowledge and personal attributes.
Training
Tendency to decrease investment in training, especially in medium and small companies. Greater emphasis on linking the training and / or training program with the needs of the organization. New trends: coaching and training. In the 1980s and 1990s there was little linkage of training to outcomes from other practices, such as performance appraisal and career planning. Furthermore, training programs did not always coincide with organizational goals, rather they responded to individual or area-specific needs and interests.
Performance evaluation
Use of methods to judge the way in which the employee carries out his tasks. Existence of problems and difficulties in providing feedback to the evaluated person. The binding of compensation prevails. In the Venezuelan organization, the uses given to the evaluation results have been limited, mainly salaries. Various benefits of evaluation, such as employee feedback, detecting training needs, and placement decisions have been deprecated.
Compensation and incentives
Most frequent variable compensation. Assignment of performance bonuses, referred to in some payrolls as "efficiency bonuses" or "productivity bonuses." Reduction of socioeconomic benefits. Salary adjustments according to inflationary conditions in the country. Apart from the five previous elements, one more is added, given its relevance in the field of human resources.
Culture
High power motivation, attributed especially to managers. Strong and clear need for affiliation, since the Venezuelan is essentially collectivist. Special ties and affinity relationships are frequent. Little motivation for achievement. Emphasis on organization as a hierarchical structure and authority, giving less importance to results and knowledge.
Difficulty getting employees to treat customers with courtesy and courtesy. For the next few years, human resources management faces a series of challenges related to a constantly changing environment. Factors such as globalization, technological advances and the multicultural aspect, to name a few, cannot be neglected by personnel management in the Venezuelan organization. Human resource management in the face of these processes has undergone important modifications. As already seen, flexibility in work relationships has brought with it:
- A flexible, unconventional working time, introducing working hours that do not guarantee the worker sufficient income for their maintenance and that of their family group, and in this case, they must carry out several working hours in different companies to improve their remuneration levels Atypical work contracts whose regulations are established by the parties (worker and human resources management, although most of the time these conditions are already set by the company and the worker must decide between accepting the contract under the conditions presented, or simply reject it and lose the job). These contracts can be made between the worker and the company or, as is common, the worker is asked to create a legal personality (personal signature,Anonymous company, limited liability company, cooperatives or other forms), through which the contracting is made, avoiding the employer responsibilities contemplated in the labor legislation, by establishing a commercial-type relationship. Decrease or non-existence of legal benefits (vacations, utilities, compulsory social security, housing policy law, unemployment insurance, among others), due to various forms of evasion that make it difficult for the worker to demonstrate the existence of an employment relationship Polyvalence in the worker's functions within the company. Pay scales based on worker productivity. High staff turnover.evading the employer responsibilities contemplated in the labor legislation, by establishing a commercial-type relationship Decrease or non-existence of legal benefits (vacations, utilities, compulsory social security, housing policy law, unemployment insurance, among others), due to various Forms of evasion that make it difficult for the worker to demonstrate the existence of an employment relationship Polyvalence in the worker's functions within the company Remuneration scales based on the worker's productivity High staff turnoverevading the employer responsibilities contemplated in the labor legislation, by establishing a commercial-type relationship Decrease or non-existence of legal benefits (vacations, utilities, compulsory social security, housing policy law, unemployment insurance, among others), due to various Forms of evasion that make it difficult for the worker to demonstrate the existence of an employment relationship Polyvalence in the worker's functions within the company Remuneration scales based on the worker's productivity High staff turnoverDue to various forms of evasion that make it difficult for the worker to demonstrate the existence of an employment relationship Polyvalence in the worker's functions within the company Remuneration scales based on the worker's productivity High staff turnoverDue to various forms of evasion that make it difficult for the worker to demonstrate the existence of an employment relationship Polyvalence in the worker's functions within the company Remuneration scales based on the worker's productivity High staff turnover
Outsourcing of part of the activities of the company, which implies that external personnel carry out various routine tasks in its facilities. It should be noted that on occasions, the administration of human resources or part of this function is outsourced, such as the selection, hiring, training and training and maintenance of personnel, which not only includes complementary activities, but also includes production.
MANAGEMENT ROLE
Human resource management has been adapting to the changes required by globalization, since, as mentioned previously, it has served as executor of the companies' human resources policies, reconfiguring the personnel selection and recruitment processes, implementing employment contracts and establishing much more flexible working relationships in line with the production needs of the company.
The discussion around human resource management stems from an even more global process, conceptualized by changes in work organization, which has gone through many processes. Currently, the discussion is focused on business reconversion and transformation as a whole, in which the main changes in terms of work organization and human resources management lie, marked by the opening of markets, changes in the rules of the game in the economy and implementation of new management methods and work organization to achieve competitiveness.
This directed the debate towards the establishment of quality circles, teamwork, versatility and new forms of work organization, casting criticism on the deepening of the reconversion processes, due to the tendency of companies to subcontract, outsource or outsource activities and the hiring of personnel. On the other hand, Altmann, when referring to the new forms of work organization as a process of rationalization, circumscribes it to special modalities such as “… expansion and enrichment of tasks, work rotation, semi-autonomous work groups and individual work with a margin greater flexibility… ”, in which both employers and workers benefit (Altmann, 1998: 522).
With this type of strategy, according to Altmann, the company seeks to rationalize production, allowing the intensive use of labor adjusted to market requirements, as well as the necessary inputs for its realization. On the other hand, workers can also be benefited, as they will enjoy greater autonomy at work, managing their time, rotating tasks to vary workloads, among other aspects.
In short, it is necessary to consider human resources management as a strategic unit and in this, senior management plays a fundamental role that contributes, effectively, to the achievement of organizational objectives. Each organization must develop and adopt the model that best suits its needs. And, the personnel function will have the importance that the organization gives it.
Undoubtedly, human resources management has a lot to do with the implementation of these changes required by the decision-making structures of companies, since it constitutes the executing arm of personnel policies, often without taking any part in these decisions.
CONCLUSION
Once the dissertation on the current reality of organizations and which is or should be the role of Human Resources management has been exposed, it is determined that human capital is acquiring greater strength in an environment in which knowledge is found in continuous advance (Jorgensen; Becker and Matthews, 2009: 451). Thus, people have become a resource of great value as the main source of knowledge, since, based on the Theory of Resources and Capacities, they have the particularity of being valuable, scarce, difficult to imitate and difficult to replace (Barney, 1991; Peteraf, 1993; Pérez and Quevedo, 2006: 12; Armando, 2011: 115).
Therefore, it is essential to maintain and retain the human capital of the company, but also, considering the growing importance of innovation in business strategies, it is necessary to create a favorable climate to obtain beneficial results for the entire organization (Pérez and Quevedo, 2006: 12).
Management practices play a leading role in this task, given that the innovative ability of an organization, as well as business performance, are related and even subordinated to the effectiveness of said practices (Shipton, Fay, West, Patterson and Birdi, 2005: 118; Laursen, 2002: 140). Thus, the importance of the human factor on the role of human resource management is evident, given that the people who make up the organization are immersed in each of the processes (Dalota and Perju, 2011: 123).
Various authors refer to the need to develop new practices in organizations, which implies making changes in the management of human resources with the aim of promoting innovation (Laursen, 2002: 141; Pérez and Quevedo, 2006: 12) and establish policies in accordance with the strategy in the administration of human resources.
The organizational structure, the recruitment and selection system, job stability, knowledge management, training, the recognition system, career development, performance evaluation, participation and teamwork, decentralization of decision-making and autonomy, communication, leadership and involvement. The organizational culture prone to innovation are the various human resource management practices that are proposed as a means of promoting results in organizational development.
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