GSP5203 Market Yourself

Assessment 1: Part 1
Report

Student Name: Husain Ali Ebrahim

ID Number: 20900541
Workshop Number: #001
Tutor: Mrs. Rhea M. Fitzpatrick

Table of Contents
Interview ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
References .................................................................................................................................................... 8

Page 2 of 8

Interview
On Thursday October 23rd, 2014, I had an interview with Mr. Mohammed Nasser, the HR Manager of
Infinity Plus for Media & PR Company at his office in Seef District.
I explained to him that I'm interested to be an HR Manager as it is my preferred position that I want to
be in, in the future. The main purpose of my interview with Mr. Mohammed is to get more information
about the position of an HR Manager.
The below questions are what have been discussed in the interview:

1. What are your duties and tasks as an HR Manager?

I usually maintain the work structure by updating job requirements and job descriptions
for all positions. I also prepare employees for assignments by establishing and
conducting orientation and training programs.
Preparing, updating and recommending human resource policies and procedures to maintain
management guidelines is another duty of mine.

2. What are the required competencies from an HR Manager?

Im aware that the core competencies of HR managers are generally the same in many
companies. The core competencies include communication skills, analysis and critical
thought processes.
3. What skills and qualifications should an HR Manager have?
The minimum education requirement for an HR Manager is typically a bachelor's degree
and several years of experience. A master's degree may also be required in a big
company. Communication and interpersonal skills are also required.
4. Do you think the Bahraini labor market is in need for such a job? Why? What are the
indicators?
I think in my point of view that the small companies in Bahrain dont need it that much
compared to big companies but there are many big companies in Bahrain which has
many employees and I think the main indicators of recruiting an HR Manager is based
on the number of employees at the company.
5. What recommendations can you give me to get a similar job?
The main requirement of any company that need an HR Manager is the experience in
the same field. I think that you need at least 5 years of experience as an HR Assistant or
HR Officer in any well-known company. You should have HR skills, the ability to manage
human resources and hiring.

Page 3 of 8

6. Is there a high learning expectation over the course of this job, with constant change
involved?
The HR manager must know how to use the latest technology to be able to save his time
and effort. There are many HR programs can be used to help the HR manager to reduce
the classic operation, to save his time and do his job efficiently.
7. What kind of hours are workers in this job doing? (Full-time, part-time, commuting
from home, work online)?
The availability of the HR Manager is important for any type of companies. We can know
that from the recruiting advertisements as that the most companies require a "FullTime" job for an HR Manager.
8. What career direction do workers who start in this kind of job tend to move through?
The position of an HR Manager comes on the top hierarchy of the most companies. He
can move to higher positions such as Director/General Manager if he has the required
qualifications and skills to manage the company.
9. What is the salary range for an HR Manager?
It depends on the companys salary policies. However, as Im aware that the salary for the HR
Manager in Bahrain is between BHD 1500-1600 as the position of this job considered as senior
position.

10. Does the job require moving a lot (travelling)?

In my case, I rarely travel as I must be available all the time.

Page 4 of 8

Analysis
Based on the research that I have done about the job, I found that there is more information to
the answerers that I have got from my interview with Mr. Mohammed. Comparing the answers and the
information that I have found, it seems that there are a lot of duties and tasks required for an HR
manager. For instance, in the U.S., an HR manager should establish a recruiting and interviewing
program to maintain organization employees, train managers to coach and discipline staff to ensure
planning, monitoring and appraisal of staff work results (Monster, n.d.). Other duties are maintaining a
pay plan, maintaining staff benefits programs, recruiting and training staff (Monster, n.d.). There are
more competencies other than the one than Mr. Mohammed mentioned. Lakshman (2006) stated other
competencies such as the Can-do mentality, business understanding, continuing learning as well as
the

competencies

that

been

mentioned

in

the

interview

such

as

strategic

thinking,

communication/interpersonal skills and analytical and creative thinking.

Sometimes, in big and very well-know companies, an HR manager must have a master's degree
and 5 years experience, at least. It is not a necessity to study human resources to become an HR
manager, however, other fields of study might be appropriate as long as they include human resource
coursework (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). There are skills that an HR manager should have other
than interpersonal skills such as computer skills, decision-making and managerial skills as well as
organizational skills (O*Net Online, 2010). HR managers should have knowledge about technology and
how to use it to adapt to change and do the work efficiently (Fogleman, 2006). An example would be the
SAP system which helps in facilitating business processes such as recruitment, personnel management,
compensation management and other processes (SAP Certification, n.d.).
According to Kolachi and Akan (2014), whether in a small or big company, an HR manager is
needed. The skills that an HR manager has can help the company no matter how big or small it is. These
skills will allow the HR manager to negotiate win-win situations for the company as well as the
employees he hires (Kolachi & Akan, 2014). Companies need an HR manager as he listens to the
employee's needs and their unspoken desires and knows creative ways to accommodate these needs
which will help the company exceed those requirements and build a good team of working
professionals. It is recommended that an HR manager should know effective HR strategies to ensure
productivity and success. Also, an HR manager must be available when needed and should have the

Page 5 of 8

knowledge of implementing compensation and wage structure as well as the understanding of

employment law and other laws (Kolachi & Akan, 2014).
From advertisements and research it seems that most companies whether in Bahrain or abroad
require a full-time HR manager as he/she has an important role in shaping the internal structure of the
company. Though, the annual wages of an HR manager are much higher in other countries such as
U.S.A. ($ 138,000 BHD 52164) (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013) than in Bahrain ($ 48,000 BHD
18,100).
Based on all these differences, it seemed that the geographic factors as well as the educational
factor have an effect on the role of an HR manager. The U.S. labor market requires from applicants to be
capable and to have more tasks, skills and qualifications in order to be competent HR managers.
Whereas in Bahrain, the duties, tasks and skills are less to what the U.S. requires which is one of the
reasons why the U.S. continues to be a top target for people who want the highest level of education in
Human Resources (Master Studies, n.d.).
The cost of living can be a factor as well. Based on the salary of an HR manager, it illustrates that
the cost of living in the U.S. is high compared to Bahrain. Also, education can be a factor as many people
consider studying abroad is better than studying in Bahrain as they offer different way of thinking,
better and higher education which is why companies in other countries require a lot from an HR
manager (competencies, qualifications, skills, tasks, etc...) than in Bahrain.

Page 6 of 8

Conclusion
From the information that I gathered, it seems that I will not be capable to be an HR
Manager immediately after I graduate. However, I think that I will be capable to be in this
position in the future. There are gaps that I need to fill such as experience, skills and
qualifications. After I graduate, I need to work in any field that can help me to improve and
grow my understanding of human resources. As I have taken an HR course before, I think I will
be able to have a job in HR as an HR assistant or any other position that allows me to progress
gradually to be an HR Manager. I have limited skills such as interpersonal skills, computer skills
and creative thinking but I need to develop these skills more by taken additional courses in HR.
There are other skills that have been mentioned that I need to gain and understand such as
technical skills, decision-making, strategic thinking and so forth. Hence, I should think of
studying abroad to understand HR thoroughly and to expand and develop my core
competencies which are communication and willing to learn.

Page 7 of 8

References
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2013, May). Occupational employment and wages: Human resources
managers. Retrieved from
http://www.bls.gov/OES/current/oes113121.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014). Occupational outlook handbook (2014-15) edition: Human resources
managers. Retrieved from
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/human-resources-managers.htm
Fogleman, S. (2006, January). Everything you need to know about human resource managementbut
were afraid to ask. Retrieved from
http://www.agmanager.info/hr/management/Everything_HR.pdf
Kolachi, N., & Akan, O. H. (2014). The role of HR managers in developing intellectual capital: A
comparative case study and viewpoints on some selected companies. Journal of Business Case
Studies (Online), 10(2), 191-202. Retrieved from ProQuest database.
Lakshman, P. (2006). HR core competencies: People management. Retrieved
http://www.citehr.com/14169-hr-core-competencies-people-management.html

from

Master Studies (n.d.). Masters degree: Human resources USA 2014/2015. Retrieved from
http://www.masterstudies.com/Masters-Degree/Human-Resources/USA/
Monster (n.d.). Recruiting and Hiring Advice: Human resources manager job description sample.
Retrieved from
http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/jobdescriptions/human-resources-manager-job-description-sample.aspx
O*Net Online (2010). Human resources managers. Retrieved from
http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-3121.00
SAP Certification (n.d.). SAP HR certification. Retrieved from
http://sap-certification.info/hr/

Page 8 of 8