Introducation

Human Resources management (HRM) plays an important role in improving the performance of the organization. It improves the morale and productivity of the workforce (Evidence-based HRM, (2015)). This paper includes the importance and effectiveness of Evidence-based HRM. Apart from this, CERA Company has been used to evaluate various sources of information. A researcher may use variety of resources but it is essential for him to test all of them before using. CRAP test has been also been used to understand the nature of resources used in the report (CRAP test, (2015)).

Evidence -Based HRM

EBM comprises of statistics, data, facts and various approaches to maintain the credibility of HR functions in an organization. According to Mostafa, 2017, “Evidence-based HRM uses existing information and evidences to form decisions and strategies” (Mostafa, (2017)). It eliminates the problems associated with the intuitive based decision making. As per Huang and Zhu, 2016, “Evidence-based HRM is a complex process but it can improve the credibility and efficiency of the HR” (Huang & Zhu, (2016)). It allows the managers to meet the expectations of the employees and other stakeholders.

Evidence-based HRM promotes theories and approaches which involve new methods of working and responding. Importance of Evidence-based HRM is as follows:

• Enhanced decision making and effectiveness (Wilton, (2016)).
• Improved alignment between human resource practice and strategies of the organization.
• Intuitive decision making depends upon what is believed to work while Evidence-based management is based on what works (Ma and et.al, (2016)).
• It uses scientific methods and practices.
• It adds value to the organization and promotes innovation.
• It provides customized solutions which are not tried on other organizations.

Strategic Evaluation of HR Function

HR function plays an important role in deciding the future of an organization (Stone and Deadrick, (2015)). It will allow Mark French and the executive team at CERA to adapt them to the changing environment. Furthermore, it will infuse right behavior and attitude among the employees. The sources which can be used by Israel Tobin are mentioned below:   

According to Ongori, 2007, “CERA can analyze the records of exit interviews of last twenty-four months to understand the problem associated with high turnover of staff members” (Ongori, (2007)). It will help them to assess the internal grievance process and its effectiveness. Many companies are using 30 days grievance investigation in order to resolve the problems in their organization.. They can create a benchmark to ensure that all the grievances are resolved without any undue delay.

• It will allow them to create protocols and policies in consultation with the employees. It will increase the morale of the workers and their productivity will increase. It will help the company to gain competitive edge in the market.
• Low employee turnover will reduce cost and will help the CERA to increase its profitability.
• CERA can also change their policies and promote sustainable development in the organization. Improvement in HR polices will increase the satisfaction level of the employees and they will work more efficiently to achieve the organizational goals.

            As per Evidence-based HRM, 2015, “CERA can adopt certain key trends to enhance the strategic value in HR function” (Evidence-based HRM, (2015)). There can be changes in the demographic structure in the organization. They can appoint young professionals which will provide a generational shift in the company. Young staff members have a different view about the work. They value work-life balance and bring innovation. Apart from this, CERA can adopt proactive management to bring changes in the company.

• It will provide a great opportunity to the HR. They can amend their strategies and this will add value to the company. They will be able to build themselves as an important strategic business partner (Zhang, Li & Frenkel, (2015)). Apart from this it will increase the profitability and provide competitive edge to the company.
• CERA can also focus on sustainable development because they have separate strategies for the employees as well as for the organization.

Crap Test

CRAP test is a tool which is used to evaluate the reliability and relevance of the information used for a project. CRAP stands for Currency, Relevancy, Authority and Purpose (CRAP test, (2015)). It includes books, articles, journals and internet sources. It has become very popular in recent times as it bifurcates the reliable and true information from the rest data available over the internet.

Currency

• Is the information recent?

            The academic journal used as source 1 was published in June 2007. While source 2 was published in September 2015. This article is more recent and the website also gets updated.

Relevancy

• Primary or secondary source of information?
• Kind of information used
• References or sources provided for the data?

            Secondary source of data has been used by the author and all the information has been included in the journal. References and other sources of the information have been provided by the author. It shows that source 1 is relevant and it applies to the topic.

            Source 2 also has a Secondary source of data. Sources and References have been provided. Furthermore, both positive and negative views have been included in the article which shows that the information is relevant.

Authority

• Who wrote the article?
• Credentials provided or not?

            Source 1 was written by Henry Ongori. It is a research project and it has been presented under the guidance of a university. It also depicts that the author and the information provided by him are reliable. Furthermore, there are no advertisements on the website. Henry Ongori has also provided his credentials.

            Source 2 is written by Robert Greene and he has also provided his credentials. Methods and references have been provided. Furthermore, there are no advertisements on the website.

Purpose

• Intended audience
• Purpose or intention of the author
• Biased/Unbiased

            Source 1 is intended for the researchers. Henry Ongori has no intention to sell the information. He has provided the articles so that other researchers can work on it. Apart from this, there is no bias towards any process or information. All the aspects including the positives and negatives have been included in the report.  

            Robert Greene has expressed his opinion in Source 2 about strategic value in HR function. He has taken into account the different views of people. The purpose of the author is to disseminate the information to general public. Moreover, the information provided by him is also used by researchers who are studying on the strategic function of HR.

Conclusion

It can be concluded from the above report that the nature of information should always be reliable. It allows the researcher to evaluate all the information and resources he has used in the study. CRAP test is very effective in this respect as it takes into consideration all the essentials aspects of the sources. It can be seen from the evaluation that both the sources are reliable and relevant to the research topic. They are not written for the purpose of selling and intention of the author is also clear. They have included all the views and they have maintained an unbiased behavior. Use of CRAP test has made the research more reliable and effective as all the unnecessary and false information have been included in the report.

Evidence-based HRM has become an integral part of HR function (Evidence-based HRM, (2015)). It has improved the effectiveness and reliability in the decision making. Furthermore, Israel Tobin can communicate the benefits of strategic value in HR to Mark French and other executives of CERA. It will benefit the organization in long run.  

References

Books and journal

Huang, X., & Zhu, Y. (2016). Cross-Cultural Management and HRM. In Managing Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment (pp. 122-139). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Latorre, F. and et.al, (2016). High commitment HR practices, the employment relationship and job performance: A test of a mediation model. European Management Journal. 34(4). 328-337.

Ma, S. and et.al, (2016). Control and commitment HR practices, job satisfaction and turnover intentions: a comparison between local and multinational firms in China. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. 27(9). 974-990.

Mostafa, A. M. S. (2017). High-performance HR practices, positive affect and employee outcomes. Journal of Managerial Psychology. 32(2).

Stone, D.L. and Deadrick, D.L., (2015). Challenges and opportunities affecting the future of human resource management. Human Resource Management Review. 25(2). pp.139-145.

Wilton, N., (2016). An introduction to human resource management. Sage.

Zhang, H., Li, X., & Frenkel, S. J. (2016, January). HR Practices, Self-identity and Employee Turnover: An Explanation from Social Identity Theory. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2016. No. 1. p. 14836). Academy of Management.

Online

CRAP test. (2015). [Online]. Available through: <https://libraries.mercer.edu/research-tools-help/citation-tools-help/evaluating-sources> [Accessed on 14^th March 2017]

Evidence-based HRM. (2015). [Online]. Available through: <https://www.hrmaj.org/index.php/my-documents/documents/17-dr-robert-j-greene-strategic-human-resource-managment-developing-hr-business-acumen/file> [Accessed on 14^th March 2017]

Ongori. (2007). [Online]. Available through: <https://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1380537420_Ongori.pdf> [Accessed on 14^th March 2017]