Final answer:
The positive aspect of dedicated HR functions is that they reinforce strategic alignment, but they risk isolation and inefficiency. Decentralized HR functions enhance communication and flexibility but may lead to inconsistent standards. Professionalizing HR is crucial for reducing biases in hiring processes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Positive and Negative Aspects of HR Functions
The discussion of dedicated and decentralized HR functions involves understanding their impacts on an organization's efficiency and alignment with strategic goals. Dedicated HR units provide positive reinforcement for strategic alignment, ensuring that HR policies are directly in tune with organizational objectives. However, they may risk isolation, potentially causing inefficiencies and duplication of efforts. On the other hand, decentralized HR allows for closer interaction between HR and other departments, fostering better communication and quick responsiveness to changes. Yet, it may lead to inconsistent HR policies and standards across the organization.
In the context of rapidly changing workplace dynamics, decentralized HR can offer the flexibility needed for teams to adapt swiftly. This approach is beneficial in an era that favors information agility and diverse skills over the rigid structures of industrial-era bureaucracies. Additionally, professionalizing HR functions may be imperative to reducing hiring biases, as evidenced by research identifying discrimination against Asian-sounding names during the hiring process in Canada.