The free market makes people all over the planet to become connected to each other, creating world that is turning into a huge “global village.”

It is necessary to recognize the fact that this unprecedented modern phenomenon is actually based on an old ideology. This is the ideology of the free-market which stipulates that there is absolute truth and desirability of unregulated global capitalism. Globalization is based on an interpretation of the classical liberal social philosophy of Adam Smith, which anticipated universal human progress through free trade.

Four basic arguments are developed with respect to the impact of financial globalization. First, globalization has increased the capital available to developing countries, which has the potential of attaining faster growth than if they had to rely exclusively on their own resources. This has produced competitive pressure among local and multi national companies for capital, labor and materials - the three important factors in any organization.

Not all capital inflows however could contribute to growth. Short-term flows and the purchase of existing assets are less valuable than acquiring investments in new facilities. At the same time, the increasing movement of bigger capital can also lead to greater instability which could have negative effects for growth.

Second, capital flows are not distributed equally by region and country, thus twisting the patterns of growth. Even within a country a noticeable uneven distribution of capital by geographic area, sector, type of firm, and social group are created. This creates division within the country's organizations particularly between winners and losers. Locally-based organizations with less capital often find themselves in the losing side.

Finally, policy changes at the global, regional, and national levels could lead to confusion among organizations in the country. Having clear policies however could solve the problems.

As competition pressure intensifies, and swift changes in market conditions are introduced, policymakers have to respond accordingly to develop new talents and the necessary human resources. To prepare the workforce for the huge structural transformations, individual economies have created and adopted specific strategies that make effective use of public resources, update labor market policies and provide education and training to help people become more employable, productive and internationally competitive. It is a common

concern to secure effective and efficient means of capacity building for sustainable economic development. Human resource policies are at the forefront of these changes.

• Demographics

  This refers to the characteristics of a population or workforce where the organization is situated. Examples of this include age, gender or social class. This type of trend may have an effect in relation to pension offerings, insurance packages, employee benefits and others.

• Diversity

  The differences within the population/workplace. Recent changes can be seen in the number of women working in the organisations compared to decades ago. With the advent of globalisation, organisations become more culturally diverse and working patterns change to part-time, casual, seasonal positions to be able to handle the societal and the global market changes. Human resource has to make necessary adjustments to be able to take into consideration the different ethic and legal implications of their decisions with regards to HRM policies intended to protect employees. Employers have to contend with various issues that affect its employees such as rise in discrimination, unfair dismissal and sexual/racial harassment cases in recent years. These cases could have negative effects to employees in particular and the organisation in general. Anti-discrimination legislation over the past 30 years has provided a foundation for an increasing interest in diversity at work which is “about creating a working culture that seeks respects and values difference.”

• Skills and Qualifications

  As industries move from manual to more managerial professions in nature, there is a growing shift for more highly skilled graduates. If there are few skilled laborers in the market, employers are forced to compete by offering financial rewards, community investment etc.

Recruitment methods are broad and different, it is important that the job is described correctly and any personal specifications stated. Job recruitment methods can be through job centres, employment agencies/consultants, headhunting, and local/national newspapers. It is important that the correct media is chosen to ensure an appropriate response to the advertised post.

This may come as a huge surprise then that in the latest survey of 2000 UK employees commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) revealed that relationships between employers and employees in a number of workplaces are described as having poor communication, trust is at low levels which leads to underperformance, low productivity and high staff turnover.

In a book called Working Life: Employee Attitudes and Engagement 2006 written by Catherine Truss, Emma Soane and Christine Edwards from the School of Human Resource Management at the Kingston Business School, Kingston University and Karen Wisdom, Andrew Croll and Jamie Burnett from Ipsos MORI. The authors believe that the main problem in HR practices in UK revolves around communication and trust. In so many ways, it is similar to a marriage under stress:

"We just don't talk anymore" Almost one-third of employees (30 per cent) say they rarely or don't get performance feedback; 42 per cent are not privy to organizational plans; only 37 per cent feel satisfied with the communication process.

"You just take me for granted" One-quarter (25 per cent) of employees feel their work is not appreciated; only 38 per cent feel appreciated by managers.

"You really get me down" Around 44 per cent of employees feel under intense stress at least once or twice a week; 22 per cent overall while 32 per cent of managers feels high levels of stress.

"The magic is gone" 43 per cent of employees are not satisfied with their relationship with their manager; 26 per cent don't want to go to work.

"I just can't trust you" 32 per cent of employees are dissatisfied with the management ; only 37 per cent shows confidence in the management and 34 per cent trust their senior managers.

"I want out" 26 per cent of employees feel dissatisfaction in their job; 47 per cent are searching for another job or thinking of leaving their current job.

Mike Emmott, CIPD employee relations adviser, said: "Lack of communication means many employees feel unsupported and don't feel their hard work is recognized. As a result the A

sparkle has gone out of the relationship, damaging productivity levels in many UK businesses."

Other key survey findings include:

Public sector

• 26 per cent of those working in the public sector feel very or extremely stressed (18 per cent only in the private sector)
• 43 per cent says their senior managers have a clear goals for the organization (compared to 52 per cent)
• 32 per cent shows confidence in senior managers and 29 per cent trust them (compared to 41 per cent and 39 per cent respectively)
• 28 per cent experience form of bullying and harassment (compared with 21 per cent in the private sector)

Mike Emmott commented: "Leaders in the public sector are under continuous pressure to meet efficiency targets and cut costs. But they will fail to deliver high levels of performance and customer service unless they also focus on the people management issues. Line managers need training to support their staff in order to help gain their trust and commitment."

Gender

• 44 per cent of women and 18 per cent of men are contracted to work fewer than 35 hours a week
• 58 per cent of women and 52 per cent of men are happy with their work-life balance
• 29 per cent of women and 19 per cent of men experience some form of bullying or harassment
• 41 per cent of women have confidence in their senior managers and 38 per cent trust them (compared to 34 per cent and 32 per cent of men)
• Women are more likely to act as advocates for their organizations - 73 per cent say they would be proud to tell people who they work for, compared to 68 per cent of men

Age

• Workers aged 55 and over are considered more engaged and less likely to take sick leave than younger employees (those under 35 are the least engaged age bracket of all those surveyed.)
• 47 per cent of employees under the age of 25 say they trust their senior management compared to just 29 per cent of those aged 45-54 and 31 per cent aged 55 and over

Despite its advanced technologies and more efficient human resource system, for human resource management in the United Kingdom to succeed some adjustments must be made in the employer-employee or employee/management-employee relationships by taking steps and making enough effort to establish a happier work environment.