Running head: POSSIBLE FUTURE CHALLENGES TO THE HRM FUNCTION

Possible Future Challenges to the HRM Function

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POSSIBLE FUTURE CHALLENGES TO THE HRM FUNCTION

Possible Future Challenges to the HRM Function
The human resource management (HRM) is the process of sourcing and equipping
employees with appropriate skills that would enable them add value to an organization. Its main
tasks include recruiting employees, training them to meet job requirements, and evaluating their
performances from time to time. It is important to mention that effective and efficient HRM
would provide an enabling environment for an organization to attain its goals and objectives. In
the past, human resource managers employed traditional methods to manage workers, but these
practices have evolved over time following the rapidly changing of the business environment.
This transition poses serious challenges to the current human resource manager; this trend is not
only an issue for the current managers but a predictable challenge to the would-be future
managers. Economic shocks, globalization, emerging view of HRM as a non-strategic cost center
rather than the profit-generating department, and internationalization of business operations are
likely to pose a challenge to the HRM in the coming days. The paper seeks to discuss the
possible future challenges to HR managers given the current HRM practices.
As mentioned in the introduction, globalization is a major challenge affecting operations
of HRM department. Its emergence has made it easier for movement of goods and servicesfrom
one country to another without the involvement of the HR department. As a matter of, the ever
growing technology is bypassing functions that were traditionally performed by the
HR(Farazmand, 2007). This means that in future more roles would be taken up by the
technology fronting a major threat to the existence of the discussed department.
There have been recent debates from business experts that HR functions are a nonstrategic cost center. According to them, roles of a human resource manager are of less economic

POSSIBLE FUTURE CHALLENGES TO THE HRM FUNCTION

value to the organization. Similarly, they argue that the rationale for the existence of any
organization is to generate profit, and every department should contribute to the overall profit.
And therefore, any department that does not generate revenue is not necessary for the structure of
the company (Fujimoto& Hartel, 2010). The arguments mentioned above are a threat to the
future existence of HRM as their adoption would render the HRM department redundant.
Another major challenge that could affect HRM is the internationalization of business
operations by most companies. This trend would make it intricate for the HR department to
exercise control over employees who are located in various countries(Farazmand, 2007).
Besides, variations of business climate, employee diversity, and competition have made it
difficult for HRM department to effectively manage workers in the foreign countries.
Furthermore, economic shocks such as inflation, deflation, recession, and depression,
have been a challenge to the HR departments. For instance, during inflation employees would be
compelled to demand wage increments to cushion themselves against increased cost of
living(Fujimoto& Hartel, 2010). Consequently, the determination of wages becomes a challenge
to the human resource managers.
From the above discussion, it is clear that globalization is a current obstacle facing the
HRM departments as it makes the HR functions redundant. Similarly, the adoption of views of
the business experts would make the department obsolete. Moreover, internationalization of
business operations would remain a challenge as more and more businesses expand to new
territories Also, economic shocks remain to be an unresolved challenge to the department. These
challenges point to a bleak future for the entire human resource function.

POSSIBLE FUTURE CHALLENGES TO THE HRM FUNCTION

References
Farazmand, A. (2007). Strategic public personnel administration: Building and managing
human capital for the 21st century. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
Fujimoto, Y., & Hartel, C. E. (2010). Moderating and mediating effects of workforce diversity:
Model of moderating and mediating effects of culturally diverse workgroup outcomes.
Saarbrucken, Germany: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.