Human resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Human resource - Essay Example In order to deal with these influences, it is essential for managers to develop their internal structures and employees’ behaviors to enable them handle the external forces. The environment in which an organization operates in is responsible for organizational activities and their eventual outcomes. This paper evaluates the effects of external factors on Human Resource Planning (Rothwell and Kazanas, 2003, P.176). Economic uncertainty Economic factors have a direct effect on recruitment, staffing and rewards that employers can give to their workers. The reason is that demand and supply law holds that when supply of labor is high, employers can obtain labour at lower prices, and when demand exceeds supply, and then employers have to pay higher wages and benefits. In instances where a country’s economy is growing at a positive rate, companies register high demand for their goods and services. In order to cope with such demand, organizations recruit more labor force, event ually lowering the rate of unemployment. When there is low level unemployment, the need for professional workers increases. This necessitates for organizations to enhance their employee retention and training strategies. When the economy is growing at a negative rate, demand for products and services reduces, and firms have to grapple with that in two ways. One option is laying off some workers, or lowering the amount of wages and benefits for in a bid to retain existing employees. Unemployment rates increase and employers are overwhelmed with applicants for advertised vacancies (Mathis and Jackson, 2008, P.454). Socio-cultural context Population trends are a key driver of the social sphere. This is demonstrated in the counter-cyclical shifts, in population trends. UK and other parts of the globe are registering increasing population growth. However, eastern and western Europe is registering low birth rates. United Kingdom in particular and Europe in general experience numbers of mi grants, resulting in an increase in the size of the prospective labor force. Moreover, migrants also form a considerable portion of consumers for the country’s goods and services. Kandula (2007, p 59) notes that the high number of the aging citizens marks a loss in the pool of knowledge, skills and capabilities. The reason is that elderly people have so much knowledge from the organization, and their retirement and departure from the workforce creates a significant gap in organizations. Kandula further notes that elderly people have a vast number of needs and special services. For illustration, elderly people require welfare benefits and caregivers, which is extra consumption for the country. United Kingdom is also registering high an increasing gap between the affluent and the poor. This results in the rise of socio-economic disparity that creates an increase in asset prices. Cascio and Boudreau (2012, P.51) note that socio-economic developments influence organizations human resources in one way or the other, particularly through the supply and demand for labor and consumption goods. Other social trends are such as rising divorce rates and rising numbers of single parents, drug use and changing roots of social individuality. The effect of these trends results in solo-living among people of all ages. Reduced interest in social conformity, vanity and individual