Free Custom «Impact of Information Ttechnology» Essay Paper

Information Technology has an extensive range of applications and due to this reality; human resource management extensively relies on it.  The reliance of human resource management on information technology is undeniable immense. Technology has been used to capture data, record it and manipulate information for the benefit of the organization. This information is also distributed to other sectors of the organization for efficient co-ordination. Information technology has had positive effect on all fields of human resource management. The types of technology applied vary extensively from enrolment, maintenance and development responsibilities. Information technology and human resource management have a wide scope of influences on each other, and the human resource management team of any organization   should embrace information technology to be in a position to support and maintain an appropriate managerial environment in a knowledge based organization. Information technology has made it possible for the organization to deliver quality human resource services at a reduced cost. These organizations enjoy a broad profit margin hence they are able to purchase more human resource technologies. The use of human resource information systems that makes it possible to accurately collect, store, maintain, recover , and confirm the information required has significantly made an impact on human resource planning.

Impact of information technology on Human resource management

One of the positive impacts of information technology on human resource management is that it facilitates creation of information technology-based workplace which promotes strategic proficiency management. Use of information technology aids the organization in relieving its employees from intermediary roles, thus shifting their attention to strategic planning and development (Othman and Teh, 2003 p543).  Technology has been used to automate many functions which were initially performed by employees and this has resulted to increased focus on more strategic issues such as increasing productivity, and improving the quality of both the products and services. In the present time, many organizations have become magnificently complex. Human resource managers in such organizations have difficult time in managing their workforce that are widely scattered across various geographical location, cultures and political structures. Given such an inclination, information technology is very significant as a tool that management can make best use of, both normally and in human related functions especially to increase production in companies. Benefits of information technologies effortlessly find their way to human resource applications. The use of human resource information systems helps in both control and planning in human resource management.

Information technology has lessened reaction time and has significantly improved the excellence of human resource services. Improvement in quality of service has been enhanced by the ability of employees to meet supply and demand as expected by the management. The use of human resource information system makes it possible to have a dependable forecast on supply and demand, and by support of strategic planning employees is able to meet the target. This system is also efficiently used in contract negotiation which will promote choice of the most profitable contract.

Trends in the Utilization of IT in Human Resource Management

Having known the span of human resource functions, an efficient Human resource management system must attend to a range of managerial, legislative, functional and technological necessities so as to enable the technological system co-ordinate the various departments of the organization while also supplying precise, dependable information for organizational long-term planning and decision-making. The current advancement in the functionality of human resource management systems is on the use of e-HR. This has marked a transition from use of human servers in attending to the clients to a web-enabled service. This has made it possible for the customers to comfortably serve themselves, a phenomenon commonly known as “self-service”. This reduces the number of employees required to offer such a service.

The human resource management systems have made it possible to eliminate the centralized technology functions which had various limitations (Agarwal and Ferrat, 1999, Pg.346). It has given rise to a networked system where information from diverse departments and functions are easily obtained, and integrated for proper planning. This system makes it possible to obtain quick and accurate information from other departments in the organization hence facilitating better decision making. The data contained in the system can be used to make follow ups of employees in various locations and calculate their salaries perfectly. The information can also be networked with that of voice recognition systems and interactive voice response to facilitate efficient client services. In some organizations, the system has been successfully used to design employees’ manuals, formulating the organisations policies, directories, and also scheming retirement benefits of employees. Budgeting of human resource financial requirements can also be well analysed. This system allows for easy communication within the organization.

The use of information technology adapts diverse patterns depending on the sector of human resource. This human resource management sectors include:

Recruitment

The task of recruitment entails a great deal of inventories. To reduce this paperwork, some organizations have opted to adopt online recruitment of employees. Interested parties mail their application letters and all their qualification documents attached to the letter through the mail. After selection, the organization sends the selected candidates mail to attend the interview which also may be conducted online. This transformation has faced criticism by a conservative section of the society accusing it of lack of accountability.  In cases where vacancy advertisements attract very many candidates, the use of technology to aid in recruiting becomes highly useful in reducing the recruiter’s workload. It has been reported that the recruitment sector of human resource is the second biggest user of information technology as a tool conduct its functions (Agarwal and Ferrat, 1999, Pg.355). This phenomenon may be attributed to by the fact that most of the people under this sector are young people who prefer internet and network technologies. The use of information technology on recruitment has attracted competent and experienced applicants and the activities and the recruitment practise becomes less costly than the traditional means of recruitment.