1 Human Resource Management 1. The economy has changed significantly over the past two decades.

Naturally, this influenced work design considerations and created new challenges for HR managers. There are a number of factors affecting modern work design. On the one hand, there is a tendency towards standardization requiring a more standardized workplace and work organization, but on the other hand, customized management requires a more individualized approach towards work organization. On the whole, increasing global competition, new work forms, increased service sector and knowledge sphere (i.e. consultancy, product development, or IT), more individualized work plans, and changing workforce composition (in terms of age, ethical, and educational aspects) influence work design, which tends to be more flexible through empowerment, integration between departments and organizations, or teleworking enabling a 24-hour world-wide work (Parker, S.K., Wall, T.D., and Cordery, J.L., 2001, pp. 417-719). Teleworking affected work design in terms of autonomy level (employers or workers working at home, workers having direct or indirect link with a final user and certain level of autonomy and task standardization). Herewith, tasks performed by those working at home and those in the office can differ, as well as productivity and performance standards. Still, the problem is that such work design is not fully regulated (Trembley, 2002, pp. 9-16). As work design requirements develop and change, managers are likely to face several work redesign challenges: influence on multiple outcomes, trade-offs between various work design approaches (i.e. mechanistic and motivational models, TQM and reengineering, or teleworking), difficulty in choosing units for analysis, difficulty in predicting the job nature, complications from individual differences, job enlargement without job enrichment, new job creation in result of growth or downsizing, and differences between long-term and short-term effects (including work quality and experience or employee training costs and benefits) (Campion, Mumford, Morgeson, and Nahrgang, 2005. pp. 368-386).

2 2. Human Resource Management is strongly connected to ethical issues, mostly due to the need to make complex ethical choices between different ethical principles or long-term and short-term needs of various participants (Stewart, 2003 as cited in Fisher, 2005, p. 240). Human resource ethical dilemmas are the most common at work and concern working relationship fairness, e.g. discrimination, harassment, favoritism; work-life balance; pay and discipline management; and relationships between people. Ethical issues are connected to differences between employees, including goals, norms, values, beliefs, etc. This strongly influences HRM effectiveness and employee performance. Also, ethics within HRM involves treating employees as valued ends and not only as a means of profitability growth. Such an approach increases a company success and employee commitment. Additionally, HR ethical issues include health, safety, and environmental standards of work and compliance with basic human rights. Herewith, ethical challenges are especially important for new employees who are not socialized into the company culture (Becker, 2010, p. 26; Katiyar, Thomas, Caldwell, n.d.). One of the brightest ethical challenges is the length of working hours. For instance, longer working hours are viewed positively by managers (as a way of increasing profits), while employees are likely to have negative perceptions, considering a longer working week an exploitation and violation of their rights. Herewith, HR managers can adopt a middle position (Winstanley and Woodall, 2000). Another ethical challenge is employee control and the use of monitoring technologies, such as RFID, violating individual privacy. Moreover, HR ethical challenges can mix with dilemmas regarding customer confidence, corporate resource use, or conflict of interests. Herewith, HR ethical problems increase in case employees are unsure of what behavior is ethical; there are opportunities to engage in unethical behavior; or employees are forced to act unethically. Therefore, ethical training is of great importance (Becker, 2010, pp. 26-27).

3 3. Performance management is tightly linked to other HRM functions. First of all, it depends on HR planning, selection, and hiring, as HR mangers should ensure that people performing certain jobs are skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced for them (Ramlall, 2003). On the other hand, it influences HR planning, while determining organizational demand for workforce, hiring, or separation. Also, performance is affected by the training function, which fosters employee performance through technical skills improvement and interpersonal and problem-solving skills development. The latter may improve interpersonal relations influencing employee productivity, as effective performance is impossible without proper communication. Additionally, training is able to develop creativity of employees, which is extremely important in the modern dynamic world raising more requirements, including flexibility and fast adaptability (Edralin, 2004, p. 1). Also, performance is interconnected with compensation management. On the one hand, effective reward system increases employee motivation and performance (Ramlall, 2003), while on the other hand, higher performance levels require higher compensation. So, one of the key challenges of performance management is to ensure effective connection with other HRM functions and ensure that all employees perform a certain role in achieving organizational mission and goals (Ramllal, 2003). Other challenges include work flexibility and work-life balance. 4. Being a complex international problem, occupational health and safety (OHS) have a great impact on organizational performance. Many diseases are connected to peoples lifestyles, which depend on their job and work conditions. Herewith, unhealthy employees are absent more often, are less productive, and can have more accidents and bigger medical bills, which costs money (Chandrasekaran, 2003, p. 23). Additionally, approximately 160 million of work-related diseases occur worldwide every year, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer, hearing loss, and mental and neurological illnesses. Therefore, it is no wonder that economy suffers great losses due to occupational illnesses and injuries, i.e.

4 in 1997, according to the International Labor Organization, economic losses accounted for 4% of the global GNP (Chandrasekaran, 2003, pp. 24-25). Also, failure in occupational safety can damage equipment, property, and environment, causing company losses. Meanwhile, in case of effective development, OHS can support employee development, minimize losses from avoidable unplanned events, ensure risk management and appropriate resource allocation, and foster continuous improvement (Ramroop, McCarthy, and Naidoo, 2004). OHS policy can improve workplace safety, decrease injury risk, increase employee health and morale, reduce turnover, and increase productivity. Also, it lowers employee compensation by promoting their health and safety. Consequently, OHS management is vital.

5 References Becker, W.S., 2010. Ethics in Human Resources: An Exercise Involving New Employees. Journal of Human Resources Education, 36(4), pp. 26-34. Campion, M.A., Mumford, T.V., Morgeson, F.P., and Nahrgang, J.D., 2005. Work Redesign: Eight Obstacles and Opportunities. Human Resource Management, 44(4), pp. 367390. Chandrasekaran, N.K., 2003. Occupational Health An Investment Benefits of Promoting Employee Health. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 7(2), pp. 23-26. Edralin, D.M., 2004. Training: A Strategic HRM function. Notes on business education, 7(4). Available at: <http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/research/centers/cberd/pdf/business/vol7/ vol7_no4.pdf> [Accessed 31 May 2011]. Fisher, C., 2005. HRD Attitudes: Or the Roles and Ethical Stances of Human Resource Developers. Human Resource Development International, 8(2), pp. 239-255. Katijar, A., Thomas, K., and Caldwell, C., n.d. Ethical Issues in International Human Resource Mangemnt: Challenges in Implementing High Performance Systems. Available at: <http://api.ning.com/files/NHqn7yCckest5siIyY*uBeluEzHOAVWB3* qoxRgsFUnUSKMhF7KYWCDZHh12PFNsu3XaM31gyC*TtPUyRHm9uQCjbIpljL IO/EthicalIssuesinInternationalHRMGBDI.doc> [Accessed 30 May 2011]. Parker, S.K., Wall, T.D., and Cordery, J.L., 2001. Future work design research and practice: Towards an elaborated model of work design. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74, pp. 414-440. Ramlall, S., 2003. Measuring Human Resource Managements Effectiveness in Improving Performance. Human Resource Planning, 26(1), pp. 51+. Available at: <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001901031> [Accessed 30 May 2011].

6 Ramroop, S., McCarthy, J.J., and Naidon, K., 2004. Successful Occupational Health and Safety: A Management Perspectives. In: SB Conferences, 8th World Congress on Environmental Health. Durban, South Africa 22-27February 2004. AVAILABLE AT: <http://kharahais.gov.za/files/health/060.pdf> [Accessed 31 May 2011]. Trembley, D.-G., 2002. Balancing Work and Family with Telework? Organizational Issues and Challenges for Women and Managers. Women in Management, 17(3/4), pp. 157170. Available at: <http://www.teluq.uquebec.ca/chairebell/pdf/public_womeninmgt. pdf> [Accessed 31 May 2011]. Winstanley, D. and Woodall, J., 2000. The ethical dimension of human resource management. Human Resource Management, 10(2), pp.5-20. Available at: <http://www.humanitas.nu/upload/docs/Artikel%20The%20ethical%20dimension%20of%20human%20resource%20management.doc> [Accessed 30 May 2011].