Essay on "Management in Spite of the Modifications"

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2. Human Resource Management

Before launching a more intense discussion of the applicability of HRM within the events industry, it is necessary to offer a clearer explanation of the concept of human resource management. The lines below provide two of the most popular definitions of HRM:

Human resource management is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce, using an integrated array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques (Storey, 1995, quoted by Brewster and Larsen, 2000, p.6)

HRM includes anything and everything associated with the management of employment relationships in the firm. We do not associate HRM solely with a high-commitment model of labor management or with any particular ideology or style of management (Boxall and Purcell, 2000, quoted by Redman and Wilkinson, 2006, p.7)

Human resource management is then the totality of policies, decisions and actions taken relative to employees, from the time the company decides they need new staff members, up to the point when the employee leaves the organization. The tasks and responsibilities of a human resource manager are wide and complex, including the selection and recruitment of new candidates, culminating with the hiring of the new employees. Within the organizational context, the HRM department is in charge of establishing and communicating the working tasks to the employee, and then conducting evaluations. The HRM team will also help the employee develop professionally by creating a professional path agenda. The human resource professional will also identify and strive to implement employee incentives and remuneration packages -- in most cases, the final decision falls in the hands of the company executives, but the HRM department is the most important advisor. Upon the departure of the employee, the HRM specialist will conduct interviews and identify the reasons for the employee's departure, with the specified intent of improving the company's future relationships with the employees.

3. Events Management

An event is generically understood as a social gathering to which numerous people participate, and at which they are joined together by a common purpose, such as the gathering of money for a given cause, the celebration of a certain happening, the viewing of arts collections and so on. Since it implies the participation of numerous individuals, the management of events is often a complex and challenging task.

The management of an event has evolved through time from a point at which a social gathering would be organized at a small scale by the number one interested party, to a point in which there are specialized events management organizations that come in and handle every aspect of the wedding, the political debate, the art gallery viewing or the charity event. What should be noted is that each event is unique and that great attention has to be given to the specific details.

Despite the recognition of the increase in the size of the events market, the determination of the actual market size is difficult to obtain. Still, an event is often observed and rated based on five criteria -- the number of visitors, the amounts of money the visitors spent, the activity and participation of the visitors, the effectiveness of the advertising campaign and finally, the satisfaction of the visitors (Shone and Parry, 2004).

Planning and administrating a business, political or social event requires several gradual steps. At a primordial stage, it is necessary for the event manager to test the idea of the event and establish its feasibility. It is also essential at this stage to identify the scope of the event; similar to the general business climate, the goals established have to be SMART -- specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time framed (Acuff and Wood, 2004).

Then, it is necessary for the target audience to be identified and the strategy for their attraction to be set in place. Third, the events coordinator will have to pay attention to the planning elements, such as the food, the music, the participants and so on. Fourth, the events manager will have to set a budget for the event; in most cases, the budget is already set and the task of the coordinator is that of organizing the event within the given financial constraints. Fifth, the event manager will have to attend to the logistics aspect of the gathering, by which he would ensure that the participants and the other parties involved are able to reach the location, can easily park their vehicles in the vicinity of the location and so on.

Another aspect is that of maintaining constant communications with the public. The main scope of this desiderate is that of appealing to and attracting the target audience. Yet, it also serves other purposes, such as enhancing the public perception of the company organizing the event or inducing a general atmosphere intended by the event. The manager will also have to consider all the legal aspects related to the event, as well as any potential liabilities.

The event coordinator will also have to ensure the sufficiency of staff. As the event comes to an end, he will have to maintain communications with the parties involved and with the participants and retrieve feedback, all with the purpose of conducting evaluations (Shone and Parry).

4. HRM Applied to Events Management

As it can easily be observed from the previous section, the planning of events requires the implementation of managerial practices derived from marketing management, financial management, administrative management, legal management and human resource management. At this stage of the report, the aim is that of revealing the HRM policies which find applications in the organization of events. For purposes of clarity and exemplification, the event will be considered that of a community celebration, such as the date a city was founded, following an old tradition. The human resource elements required in the planning of the event are pinpointed below:

identification of staffing needs recruitment, selection and hiring training motivation and retention conflict management communications diversity

4.1. Staffing needs

Staffing is generally understood as the human resource management activity of "obtaining people with appropriate skills, abilities, knowledge and experience to fill in the work organization. Pertinent practices are human resource planning, job analysis, recruitment and selection" (Bratton and Gold, 2001, p.15). The first thing on the agenda is then that of identifying the needs for staff. In a context of a community celebration to which an estimated 20,000 participate, there should be an average of 900 staff members to attend to these visitors.

It is then necessary to divide the work which has to be performed. The event manager identifies the following categories of positions which need to be filled in -- chefs and cooking assistants (the city hall offers traditional food to all participants to the event); "sales" assistants (these are virtually the people serving the food to the participants); security agents to ensure that the event plays out in a peaceful manner; entertainers, such as mimes, dancers or singers (the organizer should also make sure to include any local celebrity); administrative staff (to welcome and accommodate the celebrities or to set the stages); cleaning crews and others (such as make up artists for the people taking the stage or sound specialists).

For cooking, there should be 200 people; another 100 should be appointed as "sales" assistants. The number of security agents should be of 120. The number of entertainers varies based on the formation, such as… READ MORE