Chatper 1. The World of Human Resources Management

Transcription

1 Chatper 1 The World of Human Resources Management Objective 1 Why study human resources management - To deal with HR issues that include: staffing the organization, designing jobs, developing skillful employees, improving performance, and rewarding employee success - Employee skills, knowledge and abilities are among the most distinctive and renewable resources on which a company can draw their strategic management - Framework of human resource management broken down into three headings o Competitive challenges Globalization Technology Managing change Human capitol Responsiveness o Human Resources Planning Recruitment Staffing Job design Training Development Appraisal Communications Compensation Benefits Labour relations o Employee concerns

2 Background diversity Age distribution Gender issues Job security Educational levels Employee rights Privacy issues Work attitudes - Above framework have been the issue for the past decade Objective 2 Challenge 1: Competing, Recruiting, and Staffing Globally - Competition and cooperation with foreign companies has become an important focal point for business - Globalization o The trend toward opening up foreign markets to international trade and investment o Manufacturing of cars in Vanada provides a good example of the impact of globalization - By partnering with firms in other regions of the world and using information technologies to coordinate distant parts of their businesses, companies have shown that they can offer customers anything, anytime, anywhere around the world. (Impact of globalization) - Corporate social responsibility o The responsibility of the firm to act in the best interests of the people and communities affected by its activities o People worry that free trade is creating a have/have not world economy, in which the people in developing economies and the world s environment are being exploited by companies in richer, more developed countries - How globalization affects Human Resource Management o Globalization affects HRM because companies have to be aware of issues such as cultures, employment laws, languages, relocating current employees, training programs, enhancing managers, pay differential and business practices

3 Objective 3 Challenge 2: embracing new technology - Technology has changed the way business carry out work. Some company use the internet exclusively while others use it more than in previous years - Knowledge workers o Workers whose responsibilities extend beyond the physical execution of work to include planning, decision making, and problem solving - Shift from touch of labour to knowledge workers means the transformation of job that did not require much skill/education to those jobs that require a bit of skill and or education. o The increase in technology means the increase for the demand of people with skill and the reduction of jobs that don t need skill - Technology, transportation, communications and utilities industries tend to spend the most $ on training - Human Resource Information System (HRIS) o A computerized system that provides current and accurate data for purposes of control and decision making o Most central use of technology in HRM is an organization s HRIS o This area is focused on to lower admin cost, increase productivity, improving decision making and service to managers and employees o Using technology can reduce this o HR chooses a HRIS by determining what is the major issue within the current HR structure in order to get their best bang for the buck - When a HRIS is implemented, HR can turn their focus to the company s strategic direction and help accomplish those goals Objective 4 Challenge 3: Managing change - Being able to manage change has become crucial to a firms success - Reactive change o Change that occurs after external forces have already affected performance o Example: Programs that are focus on total quality, continuous improvement, downsizing, reengineering, and outsourcing - Proactive Change

4 o Change initiated to take advantage of targeted opportunities o Example: seeing others fail and initiating change before anything affects your performance - Reasons why change efforts fail o No sense of urgency o Not creating a powerful coalition to guide the effort o Lacking leadders who have a vision o Lacking leaders who communicate the vision o Not removing obstacles o No systematic planning o Declaring victory too soon o Failing to maintain the momentum of the change - For change to be effect you have to: o Link change to business strategy o Create quantifiable benefits o Engage key employees, customers, and their suppliers early o Integrate required behaviour changes o Lead clearly, unequivocally, and consistently o Invest to implement and sustain change o Communicate continuously and personally o Sell commitment to the change, not the communication about the change Objective 5 Challenge 4 : Managing Talent, or human capital - Human Capital o The knowledge, skills, and capabilities of individuals that have economic value to an organization o Human capital is intangible and cannot be managed the way organizations manage jobs, products and technologies. Employees own their own human capital

5 o To build human capital in organizations, managers must continue to develop superior knowledge, skills, and experience within their workforce - Employees need opportunities for development on the job. The most highly valued intelligence on the part of employees tends to be associated with competencies and capabilities they learn from experience and are not easily taught - Skill-based pay, for example, rewards employees for each new class of jobs they are capable of performing Objective 6 Challenge 5: Responding to the market - Meeting customer expectations is essential for any organization. - Total quality management (TQM) o A set of principles and practices whose core ideas include understanding customer needs, doing things right the first time, and striving for continuous improvement o TQM works when there has been a change in philosophy or practice in a work place - Six Sigma o A process used to translate customer needs into a set of optimal tasks that are performed in concert with one another o Helps with quality of products, performance of customer service, and development of employees o Helps detect mistakes before they happen - HR programs important because it helps balance two forces o The need for order and control (leads to stagnation) o The need for growth and creativity (leads to disintegration) - Reengineering o Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed o Often forces managers to start from scratch and think of how work should be done and how technology and ppl should interact (environment change) Objective 7 Challenge 6: Containing cost - All cost related to employees are at an all time high - Downsizing o Planned elimination of jobs o No considered a short term fix. Companies are continually looking at ways to use employees efficiently and keeping the employment numbers to a minimum - Layoffs may backfire because of the hidden cost associated with it o Severance pay o Vacation/sick day payoff o Pension/benefit payoff

6 o Potential lawsuits o Lack of staff after economy rebounds - Avoiding continuous downsizing creates o Loyalty o Higher customer satisfaction o Recruiting edge o Workers not afraid to innovate - Out sourcing o Contracting outside the organization to have work done that formerly was done by internal employees o Firms hire outside companies to handle different aspects of their company all the time. Example: hiring an advertising company to promote o This helps a business focus on what they do best - Offshoring o The business practice of sending jobs to other countries o Cost reduction is the key motivation of offshoring o Usually save on labour cost (china or india) o There can be hidden cost in offshoring such as Productivity loss Political instability Economic instability - Employee leasing o The process of dismissing employees who are then hired by a leasing company (which handles all HR-related activities) and contracting with that company to lease back the employees o Used as an alternative to downsizing, outsourcing, and offshoring - Productivity enhancement (pg 20 fig 1.2) o Motivation o Environment o Ability Objective 8 Demographics and employee conern - Age, gender, race etc - To accommodate shifts in demographics, it is one of HR s top priority to produce a diverse work force - Managing Diversity o Being aware of characteristics common to employees, while also managing employees as individuals Objective 9 Responsibilities of HRM - Advice and counsel o In house consultant to supervisors, managers, and executives - Service o Recruiting, selecting, testing, planning and conducting training programs - Policy formulation and implementation o Revising policy, creating policies

7 - Employee advocacy o Listen to employee concerns and try to improve environment Objective 9 Competencies of a HRM (model on pg 31 fig 1.6) - Business mastery - HR mastery - Change mastery - Personal Credibility