Hi to all members of this community ...
I am a HR aspirant pursuing my MBA from Goa insititute of Management(GIM) . I had the following queries which seniors/experts in HR circle could help me with..
1) My main inclination towards HR is because of the psychological and emotional intelligence aspect involved in this stream . I feel i can listen to people's problems and help in getting solutions. I personally feel empathetic towards the poor work life balance (from my own experience in a MNC for 2 years) and feel that by pursuing HR i would get the first hand chance to influence the work life related policies of future organizations i work for.. however .. from many industry sources i come to know that HR is powerless when it comes to formulating policies for employee welfare ... HR guys are under constant pressure from top management/ leaders of the organization to meet targets , have become puppets and have no say of their own..all HR guys do is serve the interests of the company and powerful top management and employee welfare has taken a back seat... is this practice/notion true ??
2) In my MBA curriculum i have the opportunity to select from a bouquet of electives and form a major and minor specialization.. I intend to take HR as the major.. but i am confused about the minor.. from an industry point of view and my career growth.. what minor should i accompany with HR as major.. should it be finance/marketing/operations .. ? I am inclined towards finance as minor.. is HR + finance a good option ?
3) Being a male in a "apparently" female dominated HR stream , will i suffer from any bias during recruitment / promotions in MNC's ?
4) In the industry circuit and among the recruiters .. what image or standing does GIM (Goa insititute of management) have especially for HR ?
Thanks in advance !
From India, Mumbai
1I am a HR aspirant pursuing my MBA from Goa insititute of Management(GIM) . I had the following queries which seniors/experts in HR circle could help me with..
1) My main inclination towards HR is because of the psychological and emotional intelligence aspect involved in this stream . I feel i can listen to people's problems and help in getting solutions. I personally feel empathetic towards the poor work life balance (from my own experience in a MNC for 2 years) and feel that by pursuing HR i would get the first hand chance to influence the work life related policies of future organizations i work for.. however .. from many industry sources i come to know that HR is powerless when it comes to formulating policies for employee welfare ... HR guys are under constant pressure from top management/ leaders of the organization to meet targets , have become puppets and have no say of their own..all HR guys do is serve the interests of the company and powerful top management and employee welfare has taken a back seat... is this practice/notion true ??
2) In my MBA curriculum i have the opportunity to select from a bouquet of electives and form a major and minor specialization.. I intend to take HR as the major.. but i am confused about the minor.. from an industry point of view and my career growth.. what minor should i accompany with HR as major.. should it be finance/marketing/operations .. ? I am inclined towards finance as minor.. is HR + finance a good option ?
3) Being a male in a "apparently" female dominated HR stream , will i suffer from any bias during recruitment / promotions in MNC's ?
4) In the industry circuit and among the recruiters .. what image or standing does GIM (Goa insititute of management) have especially for HR ?
Thanks in advance !
From India, Mumbai
My views on your queries are :
1)It is the owner of the business who has every right to organise his business and therefore he will try to reign in with regard to matters that have financial implications.It may happen not only with HR but with other disciplines like marketing or finance or production.For example,he may not agree immediately to any proposal from production to modernize machinery since it involves cost to the company.Similarly, he may ask Finance to rationalize spending.Again, he may direct marketing to cover more areas with existing manpower. In the same way , he may turn down a proposal for a medical camp for medical check-p of employees proposed by HR. In many cases, the owner offers convincing reasons to reject the proposals. for instance, in the case of proposal for medical camp, he may say that the employees are already covered by ESI and hence there is no need for additional check-up.It all depends up on the individual HR's leadership style, knowledge credibility and skills and the consequent stature, trust and equation which he enjoys with the top management that decide whether HR has his way or not. If you poke professionals from other disciplines like Marketing and Finance, probably, they too have many stories to tell.Therefore do some more thinking on this aspect.
2)It is better to follow your natural inclinations and aptitude. which means things you like and enjoy doing without looking at your watch.Therefore, check and be assured of this before taking a final call
3)This is only a misconceived notion. There is hardly any field now which women did not enter.Take medicine,law, teaching,banking, Insurance,IT,ITES, biotech and even engineering, you will find lot of women working in them.Did men stop opting for these streams.? On the other hand, men and women can complement each other in their work as a team with their respective strengths to make HR functioning more responsive as a whole.I remember a statement which I read some where that if you want to walk fast, walk alone and if you want to walk far, walk together.Be in tune with the times which is workplace diversity is a reality and team work is the norm. So far an individual's career progress is concerned, I again recall a piece of advice given by a learned man whose name I do not remember vividly which is that nothing ever happens until you create the space for it to happen It depends up on your performance, knowledge levels and skill sets that create the chances for your promotion.
4) I have no comments as i have no idea.
I find you to be an enthusiastic budding professional having your views as to how to make HR influence the work life of the employees in a positive way.That is admirable.But at the same time you seem to entertain doubts about the world around you.For example,do not look at an eraser as a tool to erase a mistake but look at it as a tool to correct a mistake.Be in tune with the times and a make thorough analysis of your strengths, aptitudes and inclinations before you take a call on your career.
Hope this helps
B.Saikumar
In-House HR & IR Advisor
.
From India, Mumbai
1)It is the owner of the business who has every right to organise his business and therefore he will try to reign in with regard to matters that have financial implications.It may happen not only with HR but with other disciplines like marketing or finance or production.For example,he may not agree immediately to any proposal from production to modernize machinery since it involves cost to the company.Similarly, he may ask Finance to rationalize spending.Again, he may direct marketing to cover more areas with existing manpower. In the same way , he may turn down a proposal for a medical camp for medical check-p of employees proposed by HR. In many cases, the owner offers convincing reasons to reject the proposals. for instance, in the case of proposal for medical camp, he may say that the employees are already covered by ESI and hence there is no need for additional check-up.It all depends up on the individual HR's leadership style, knowledge credibility and skills and the consequent stature, trust and equation which he enjoys with the top management that decide whether HR has his way or not. If you poke professionals from other disciplines like Marketing and Finance, probably, they too have many stories to tell.Therefore do some more thinking on this aspect.
2)It is better to follow your natural inclinations and aptitude. which means things you like and enjoy doing without looking at your watch.Therefore, check and be assured of this before taking a final call
3)This is only a misconceived notion. There is hardly any field now which women did not enter.Take medicine,law, teaching,banking, Insurance,IT,ITES, biotech and even engineering, you will find lot of women working in them.Did men stop opting for these streams.? On the other hand, men and women can complement each other in their work as a team with their respective strengths to make HR functioning more responsive as a whole.I remember a statement which I read some where that if you want to walk fast, walk alone and if you want to walk far, walk together.Be in tune with the times which is workplace diversity is a reality and team work is the norm. So far an individual's career progress is concerned, I again recall a piece of advice given by a learned man whose name I do not remember vividly which is that nothing ever happens until you create the space for it to happen It depends up on your performance, knowledge levels and skill sets that create the chances for your promotion.
4) I have no comments as i have no idea.
I find you to be an enthusiastic budding professional having your views as to how to make HR influence the work life of the employees in a positive way.That is admirable.But at the same time you seem to entertain doubts about the world around you.For example,do not look at an eraser as a tool to erase a mistake but look at it as a tool to correct a mistake.Be in tune with the times and a make thorough analysis of your strengths, aptitudes and inclinations before you take a call on your career.
Hope this helps
B.Saikumar
In-House HR & IR Advisor
.
From India, Mumbai
Thanks Sir for your valuable inputs.. will keep all of that in mind when pursuing my career in general. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ..........................................(i had to fill the dots to fill in the 50 characters that citehr requires to post a short reply :P).
From India, Mumbai
From India, Mumbai
Hi,
few views on your listed queries:
First and the foremost HR is just not a simple job to be taken for your inclination just on emotional intelligence and people stories.Its a long long journey and the more you work the more you realise.But you need to be passionate about what you do,then you will be able to get its true essence. Don't sit thinking why its like that and like this ....or else you will loose your way.Try to give your full potential and skills so that all these seems very minor obstacles and surley you will overcome them.
From India, Bangalore
few views on your listed queries:
First and the foremost HR is just not a simple job to be taken for your inclination just on emotional intelligence and people stories.Its a long long journey and the more you work the more you realise.But you need to be passionate about what you do,then you will be able to get its true essence. Don't sit thinking why its like that and like this ....or else you will loose your way.Try to give your full potential and skills so that all these seems very minor obstacles and surley you will overcome them.
From India, Bangalore
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