Human Resources

Human resources is a term used within the business world in regards to business, labor, and economics. The term human resources can have different interpretations depending on context. The term originally was used within the political economic arena or economics where human resources, then known as labor, was regarded as being one of three factors of production. The more common context refers to people that work within a corporation. These persons within the organization typically work in the department of hiring, firing, training, and other personal issues with employees.

Persons working within the department of human resources must have specific personal skills and abilities due to the nature of the department. For instance, because they are dealing with hiring and firing they need to not only be highly personable but also assertive without being aggressive. This is necessary in order to conduct proper interviews as well as handle termination of an employee appropriately. Furthermore, they also need to be highly trained in the workings of the organization or corporation because they are training new employees. They need to be able to answer any questions as well as cover every necessary arena of the business. This makes persons working within this department as highly beneficial to the corporation or business.

Persons working within the human resources department are also responsible to deal with individual issues of employees as well as issues between employees. This makes it necessary for these persons to have skills in the areas of counseling, mediation, as well as conflict resolution. Counseling could come in handy when employees are having difficulties either at the work place or at home which could be affecting their work. Employees should feel as if they are being listened to and empathized with. Mediation is a necessary skill that should be used when two or more employees are having troubles with each other. It is the responsibility of the human resources person to appropriately handle the situation and try to resolve it effectively. Using a mediator can be helpful because it can allow for each person to have an equal say as well as keeping emotions at a minimum and staying on topic of the issue at hand. Conflict resolution is a necessary skill that can be used as part of mediation, but is definitely necessary when there is open and obvious conflict in the work place. Obtaining the skills of a human resources person in the area of conflict resolution can be helpful in resolving problems around the work place so that lower productivity and other effects can be minimized.