CHAPTER 7: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RESOURCE
7.2 The Personal Impact of the Human Resource Practitioner -
The extent to which Human Resource practitioners impact on the policy development process has already been explored. It has been concluded that the practitioner's role allows them a comprehensive influence on decisions that are made. If we take into account the larger degree of influence held by British practitioners, as discussed above, then this impact is even more extensive. In light of this, the issue of the practitioner'S personal values, beliefs and opinions;
their impact on decisions around policy content especially, and whether practitioners in fact allow their values and beliefs to impact on policies, needs to be considered.
Hollinshead, Nicholls and Tailby (1999) acknowledge that an exploration of values gives insight into the thoughts, motives and behaviour of the significant actors, in this case - in the policy development process. Therefore, it is important to determine whether it is the personal values and beliefs of the practitioners that influence their thoughts, motives and behaviour in developing policy or whether it is the values and principles of the organisation that guides them. The results indicate that the majority of practitioners from the United Kingdom involved in the study are guided by a combination of their own personal values and beliefs and the values and beliefs of the organisations they represent. Some even commented that the basis for decisions around policy is what is fair and reasonable, taking into account both sets of values. This is a positive element in British organisations as it indicates that the thoughts and behaviours of practitioners are not simply guided by the commercial values of the organisation but also take into account the needs and views of employees.
An interesting discovery is that one of the practitioners interviewed noted that he was only driven by his personal values when developing policy. The reason given for this approach is that the organisation has not yet fully defined its values and beliefs and has, therefore, given full responsibility for the development of policy to the Human Resource practitioner. He is allowed the freedom to incorporate his own personal values into the policies, posing an important problem as policies are there to guide an entire diverse organisation. This highly questionable situation means that the values and beliefs of one individual dominates the work
lives of an entire workforce This could never function in a South African work environment where people from a variety of different cultural, social, racial and gender backgrounds could not be managed by the values of one individual. This situation, however, can be considered very unusual and as such should not effect the overall results of the study.
The position taken by practitioners in the United Kingdom on the impact of their personal values, beliefs and opinions is shared by practitioners in South Africa. South African practitioners also try to maintain a balance between the two sets of values, taking a neutral position in decisions around policy content. I believe this to be a positive approach by both groups of practitioners because their role in the organisation should be one of neutrality and as such, they should not allow their own personal values to dominate the policy development process. As determined through a discussion of the South African results, Human Resource practitioners also hold the responsibility to encourage the participation of employees in the process and to give them a voice. This means that in developing policy, they cannot be completely guided by the values of the organisation and what it wants to achieve but also need to take into account the values and beliefs of other parties in the organisation that will be affected by these policies.
7.2.1 Shifts in the Values, Beliefs and Opinions of Human Resource Practitioners
Human Resource practitioners have been identified as the primary influence on policy
development and it is, therefore, important to determine what influences them and where they are coming from. Although it has been acknowledged that these practitioners do not allow their personal values and beliefs to dictate their policy decisions, there may still be instances where their personal values come to bear on the process. It is, therefore, important to explore what has influenced these values; if any shifts have occurred to their values and how these shifts have been expressed. Practitioners in the United Kingdom identified that their personal values and beliefs have indeed changed, predominantly since they had been in the Human Resources profession. The results indicate that some practitioners noted that their values and beliefs had shifted as a result of changes to legislation over the years. The introduction of new EEC directives and changes to domestic employment law had affected their beliefs and opinions on issues. Primarily though, the values and beliefs of practitioners were shown to be influenced by the era they grew up in and the life experiences they encountered. Their
background and upbringing were acknowledged as being important influences on the way practitioners thought, behaved and what they valued in life.
The effect of a practitioner's background and experiences on their values and opinions, which they bring to the policy development process, is further substantiated by Godsell' s
acknowledgement (1983: 110) that "values result, at least in part, from home and peer group socialisation." She also extends this argument for the influence of era and background on values by identifying Van Maanen and Schein's statement that "the values of the new generation entering organisations may be quite different from traditional values" (Godsell, 1983: 13). This means that the era that younger employees grew up in and were affected by holds different experiences from those of older employees. This may cause problems, especially in the South African process, where younger practitioners, managers and
employees may clash with their older counterparts in the development of policy as they are guided by different values, beliefs and opinions influenced by their experiences and
background. This situation is not likely to occur in the United Kingdom where practitioners have the overall influence on policy development and will not be greatly influenced by the values and beliefs of managers or employees from different eras and backgrounds.
It is not only important to understand the influence on values, beliefs and opinions of Human Resource practitioners but it is also vital to identify in what way their values have changed.
By looking at shifts in values and beliefs, it allows an understanding of changes to the thoughts and behaviours of practitioners which influence the way they develop policies.
(Hollinshead, Nicholls and Tailby,1999) It also helps to identify what practitioners may be trying to achieve through their decisions around and the development of certain policies. The results indicate that British practitioners have all had their values, beliefs and opinions affected in different ways and that these changes have impacted on the way they develop Human Resource policies.
Four main categories of change to values can be identified from the results of the study:
~ Become more encouraged to increase communication between management and employees and increase sharing of information
~ Become more flexible
~ Grown older and matured
~ Become more organised and thorough
It is interesting to note that the practitioner who acknowledged that she had become more encouraged to share information and increase communication noted that she was primarily influenced by her background and experiences from her previous career. Before entering Human Resources, this practitioner was in the caring profession which has moulded her
values and beliefs towards becoming more open, eager to share information and
communicate with employees. Understanding the value shift of one practitioner who became more mature in her approach can also help to understand why she strongly advocates for policies that stress family life and quality of life. This is because the results identify that she has matured through developing a respect for people who value other things besides work.
The previous discussion of the research results identified that most South African
practitioners also experience some degree of change (or shift) to their values, beliefs and opinions, especially since being in the Human Resource profession. Their reasons for the shift in values are different
, however. They have been primarily affected by changes to thesociety as well as changes to the management-employee relationship within the organisation.
Due to the fact that these two elements - the society and the management-employee relationship - have been tremendously adversarial in the past because of the country's history, the changes that have occurred to them have been radical. Therefore, it is easy to see how they can have an important influence on the values and beliefs of practitioners.
In correspondence with the results from the United Kingdom, South African practitioners also acknowledge that they have been primarily influenced by their background and the era they grew up in. This similarity indicates that most people, across different countries, are shaped by their past experiences, their family and upbringing and the society that they live in.
These elements have an important influence on who they are as an individual - the way they behave, what they value and believe in and what motivates them in making decisions.
The results of the two scenarios indicate, therefore, that the values, beliefs and opinions of practitioners are primarily influenced by the era and background they grew up in as well as their life experiences. Because practitioners come from different experiences, changes to their values and beliefs can never be entirely the same. The way their values shift and the effect that this has on the policies and practices they develop, differs for each practitioner.
Therefore, it can never be fully predicted how practitioners will think or behave in terms