Human Resource and Change Essay

Human Resources & Change: The Internal Revenue Service

Human Resources

Tax season is upon Americans. Every working American knows that when dealing with tax issues, which at some point, every working American does, interactions with the Internal Revenue Service are inevitable and often profoundly displeasing. Citizens make feel powerless against the institution of the IRS because it is a part of the federal government. Citizens may feel they have to put up with the treatment and negligence of the IRS and that organization will not be held accountable. It is untrue. In 1998, a piece of legislation was passed as response to charges brought upon the IRS by a Senate Finance Committee. Therefore, the paper finds the IRS an organization ripe for change in regards to Human Resources. The paper will propose a change in the IRS and hypothesize the implications as well as the implementation of such a change.

Human Resources & Change: The Internal Revenue Service

The organization I have identified for the sake of this paper is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A change that needs to be made in the IRS is improved quality and frequency of positive customer interactions. This change needs to occur because the IRS is an organization with which millions of Americans interact with annually. Participation in taxation is mandatory in America with severe penalties for tax fraud and tax evasion. As an organization that interacts with millions of Americans of various kinds, it is important that the interactions with customers remain as professional and civil as possible as taxation is a delicate issue for many. It is furthermore important that a change in improvement of service is made by the IRS before the change is federally mandated as was the case in 1998, when the IRS was mandated to make significant changes in their Human Resources departments and procedures (Henning, 1999,-Page 405). Representatives of the IRS admitted before a Senate hearing committee of gross violations of Human Resources codes regarding ethics and morality both internally within the organization as well as with customers (Henning, 1999).This organization is responsible for the acquisition and management of every American's tax returns every year. This organization is responsible for the acquisition and management a significant quantity of funds and other collateral. Thus it is critical that an organization with so much responsibility that is in direct contact with most of the domestic population consistently be courteous, ethical, and professional while conducting their business. The IRS is a part of the federal government and it is an organization of civil service. Antagonism and civil service are counterintuitive to one another. It is illogical for civil servants to be mean; if so, they should consider a new industry. If improvements are not made regarding positive and appropriate customer relations, staff of the IRS could be fired; there could be significant restructuring in the organization hierarchy; and the population could revolt. Americans have a history of revolting because of taxation issues.

The IRS has options when addressing this issue. The IRS needs to modify the training content and procedures of its workforce. Educating the workforce makes them at least partially responsible for the change in service. When all staff has been trained, no….....