Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY PROJECT: RESEARCH PAPER 1
Human Resource Policy Project – Research Paper
Darius Cooper
Liberty University
BUSI 642 D04
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY PROJECT: RESEARCH PAPER
Abstract
Policies are created to govern the behavior and running of an organization. These tenants
or rules allow for the effective management of personnel and procedures. They also
protect the organization, its stakeholders, and lastly employees in some capacity.
This report will discuss the human resource polices involving dress code, code of
conduct, harassment, and lastly training development and opportunities. In organizations
that have 15-25 employees, regulations and management must correlate with societal
issues and standards as well as government guidelines. Organizational environments that
are flexible and adaptable are the ones that remain sustainable and maintain their
longevity in their perspective industries. Our faith guides us though lives obstacles and
professional paths but we must accept and respect one another as all of God’s flock in
order to live life through him.
Keywords: Organizational learning, policies, standards, guidelines
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY PROJECT: RESEARCH PAPER
Introduction
Mishra & Gupta (2014) indicate, “human resource policies such as selection,
performance appraisal, training & development have been well researched, understood,
and have proven their importance in the field of management” (p. 2). Corporations must
also have programs in place that govern the policies and guidelines and convey the type
of atmosphere that stakeholders want in an organization learning environment. Anisimov,
Obukhova, Aleksakhina, Zhaglovskaya & Kudra (2017) suggest, “human resource
management is one of the main factors in forming organization's competitive advantages.
It is based on employees’ motivational level, increased by involving them in making
managerial decisions, improving their professional competencies and by increasing their
loyalty to managerial authority” (p. 443). This thesis will examine how a small
organization with 15-25 employees can sustain policies and manage future expansion of
the company and personnel.
Dress Code
Honestly, our society focuses on perception and people often judge others based
on how they look just as much as their actions. The traditional rules of dressing to
impress or wearing the appropriate attire to work have gone to the wayside for a more
business casual or casual emphasis. Middlemiss (2018) argues, “there is no doubt that the
power to control appearance is widely, though subtly, used in the workplace” (p. 41). The
misconceptions that lie with not knowing one’s status in the work environment or in
passing on the street is a sign that our current casual ethic conveys our public’s opinion
on fashion and what each person wishes to show other people. This is why organizations
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY PROJECT: RESEARCH PAPER
need to have effective policies in place to inform employees what the standards of
conduct are according to professional appearance and dress.
Middlemiss (2018) implies, “an employer’s dress code must not be discriminatory
in respect of the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010. However, the
courts have tended to support employers in their desire to introduce and maintain
dress standards in the workplace except where it involves the most blatant use of
discriminatory tactics” (p. 42).
Dressing to impress a social norm is, which organizations must have concise policies to
enforce a strict work attire that is clear to all employees. This unambiguous guidelines
and standards should be understood by all levels in the organization to ensure compliance
and acceptance by all personnel. Middlemiss (2018) directs, “the presence of an explicit
appearance policy was largely absent in the smaller to mid-sized firms. In these
environments, there was a general expectation that employees would be socialised into
the culture of the firm and learn the dress norms through day to-day observation” (p. 41).
Proverbs 15:22 (ESV) states, “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they
succeed. Leadership and continued management of dress code policies are to ensure the
working environment is represented in the conduct of the image that the organization
wants to display. Group think sessions where policy is reviewed, and agreeance comes
from everyone and no one is publicly singled out for any infractions with their wardrobe
choices.
The human resources department should be the manager and enforcer of all
policies so that the dress code is formulated and managed by one sole department.
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY PROJECT: RESEARCH PAPER
Collins (2015) argues, “the first step is to ensure that the rules or policies are known and
understood” (p. 64). As our cultures shift towards more casual and less formal work
attire, the principles must be outlined. Some employees want to see how far they can
stretch the dress code while others want stricter guidelines, so it is a constant issue.
However, it is stated that few employees file complaints about dress code. It is essential
for the organization to decide how they want their employees to dress because their
public image and reputation reflect how their staff looks and works. Middlemiss (2018)
implies, “they should also have a clear written policy which when implemented is widely
communicated. As part of the policy, employers should highlight any negative
consequences for employees that fail to comply with it” (p. 46).
Code of Conduct
Firms improve must monitor their employees to ensure they are following the
ethical codes of conduct outlined in the organizations vision. Ethical behavior is critical
to the sustainability of a corporation because each individual is a representation of their
company and any negative events could cloud and effect that organizations reputation
within their industry and in the public eye. Tréguer-Felten (2017) advocates, “corporate
codes of conduct could highlight the beliefs and business norms acceptable here and there
and help practitioners to successfully perform the advocated cross-cultural transfer of
corporate codes of conduct” (p. 137). Code of conduct has an impact on staff and their
actions in an organization.
Ethical behavior is a standard for any professional but the guidelines and
principles must be outlined by the corporation so there is no ambiguity. Thaler & Helmig
(2016) show, “these codes also reflect democratic values as well as traditional public
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY PROJECT: RESEARCH PAPER
sector values such as integrity, ethos, public trust, compassion to others or adherence to
formal procedures and elements that are related to management reforms such as
transparency or service orientation” (p. 1368). Defining what right looks like will ensure
that any unethical behavior or practices are dealt with swiftly or combated all together.
Thaler & Helmig (2016) direct, “as has been stated for codes of conduct, ethical
leadership should guide employees in their reflections on right and wrong behavior in
order to assure a good conduct” (p. 1369). All levels of a business are to be held
accountable to these standards of ethical leadership and responsibility. The authors also
differentiate public and private sector organizations and how each area has variances of
what ethical behavior they covet.
Harassment
Jacobson & Eaton (2018) speaks, “little is known about the causal effect of sexual
harassment policies on sexual harassment outcomes at work” (p. 39). Passive leadership
and other factors of the working environment could be factor or cause in the increase of
harassment and sexual harassment cases. Leaders at all levels should be well versed in
the organizations policies on harassment in order to ensure that all applicable rules are
followed and the standards and intent of the company is clearly stated for all employees.
Lee (2018) advises, “it is imperative to understand factors that contribute to the
proliferation of sexual harassment of both men and women. Among others, the current
study focusses on organizational factors such as passive leadership, hostile work context,
and workplace gender ratio” (p. 596).
Managers who discriminate or show passive leadership qualities should be
retrained to improve the overall working environment and given a chance to show change
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY PROJECT: RESEARCH PAPER
in leadership styles or have their employment terminated. Work environments can be a
stressful place and having passive leaders only adds to the intense and uncomfortable
environment. Aggression has also been studied to understand the links or connection to
harassment in workplace settings. Interpersonal conflicts seem to be a leading cause or
breeding ground for potential cases in organizations. According to Philippians 4:6 (ESV),
“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”. This all stops with active and
engaging leadership that looks for signs and try to foster positive work environments. An
organizations HR department should advocate a company’s policies that deter and try to
prevent any harassment. With a small firm of 15-25 employees, starting the foundation on
the right terms with guidelines that protect everyone, will ensure that3 when the
organization grows, the policies will reflect the rules in place.
Training Opportunities and Expectations
Christian (2107) articulates, “knowledge is increasingly importance for the
economic well-being of businesses. Core competencies of management are the generation
and processing of information, used to develop a competitive advantage” (p. 1). The
importance of training and knowledge management in organizations is relevance to the
progression of developed staff coupled with the balance of training and mentorship allow
organizations to groom employees with promise that will benefit the corporation.
Cognitive and creative skills of the employees play a key factor in the success of an
organization. Knowledge workers are increasingly sought after because of their ability to
work with minimal supervision while accomplishing the company’s goals and efforts.
The prerequisites to achievement lie in the training and development that is managed by
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY PROJECT: RESEARCH PAPER
senior leaders in the organization through programs and policies that are effective yet
adaptable. Talent management and lifelong learning correlate to continued results and
increased knowledge that benefits the person and their employer. From a corporation’s
vantage point, successfully managing training programs will build on the advantages they
gain within their industries and amongst competition. Any policies or programs need to
be outlined and precise to enable personnel to be trained efficiently and to standards
conveyed.
Talent management is important and should be spearheaded through an
organization’s human resources department. Foster (2016) utters, “encouraging and
supporting individuals to comprehend their talent potential depends on organizations
being part of the process, providing exposure to the types of knowledge, skills and
abilities sought” (p. 16). Talent is merely a perception and context but is powerful and
thrives with effective leadership and continuous management. The boundary-less talent
model (BTM), which provides a structure for handling the flow of aptitude through a
business their duties and responsibilities along with experience. The BTM identifies five
categories in regard to talent; strategic talent, talent within, expert talent, genius talent,
and unrecognized talent. Each category ideally is useful to an organization except for
unrecognized talent that needs to be refocused in to something worthwhile.
Quality and innovation allow for advantages in transnational markets through
specialized training and some initiative from promising employees. Frenkel & Bednall
(2016) specify, “career expectancy is based on expectancy theory, which assumes that
expectations about the future influence present behavior. The theory implies that
employee responses to organizational support will be influenced by their effects on
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY PROJECT: RESEARCH PAPER
employee career expectations” (p. 16). Employees that understand the inner workings of
an organizations promotion systems and underlying tasks and/or milestones to reach
those goals will be successful. Once those opportunities were known by staff, individuals
were able to chart their own career expectations to strive for greatness. Frenkel & Bednall
display a hypothesized model showing the effects of finding the right opportunity setting
to influence any perceptions or positive interactions with supervisors or mentors. The
employee’s opinions of the workplace environment did play a role in whether they feel
training and pursuing opportunities is healthy for their career development.
Conclusion
Overall, establishments must be founded on principles that structure the learning
organizational environment to where all employees are safe to work, prosper, and reach
business goals and visions for the stakeholders. 1 Corinthians 14:40 (ESV) states, “But
all things should be done decently and in order”. Establishing the appropriate policies and
tenants for the organization is a difficult task, but one that needs careful thought and
consideration. Businesses should also be flexible and allow for adaptation to newer
government standards and changing societal issues and advances. Having the patience is
key, especially when a company is starting out, setting guidelines and establishing a HR
department that will oversee and adjust the doctrine as the organization maintains
stabilization and grows exponentially.
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY PROJECT: RESEARCH PAPER
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