Human Resource Management Chapter 3

Human Resource Management

• Organizational success is dependent on the effective management of people.
• The application of theories of organizational behavior to the context of people management has led to the development of various schools of thought, including:
  • Personnel management
  • Industrial relations (IR)
  • Human resource management (HRM)
  • Strategic human resource management (SHRM)

The Evolution of HRM

• The broad function of personnel management has been in existence since the industrial revolution.
• Personnel management focused on:
  • Procedures and control
  • Administration of employment contracts and job grades
  • Collective bargaining
• In the 1980s, organizations came to realize that people were a resource that needed proper management at a strategic level, leading to the emergence of HRM.

Defining HRM

• HRM is a process that aligns the needs of the organization and those of the employee.
• It is a managerial perspective that argues for the need to establish an integrated series of personnel policies consistent with organization strategy.
• Goals of HRM include:
  • Quality of working life
  • High commitment and performance from employees
  • Organizational effectiveness and competitive advantage

Strategic HRM

• Strategic HRM (SHRM) is concerned with the development and implementation of HR strategies that are integrated with organizational strategy.
• SHRM recognizes the importance of human assets in achieving organizational objectives.
• SHRM differs from traditional HRM in its emphasis on relationships between:
  • People
  • Structures
  • Strategy
  • The external environment

Models of SHRM

• There are several models of SHRM, including:
  • The Michigan Model
  • The Harvard Model
  • The Warwick Model
• Each model approaches SHRM in a unique way, with different emphases and foci.

Core Components of SHRM

• The core components of SHRM include:
  • Recognizing the outside environment
  • Recognizing competition and labor-market dynamics
  • Long-range focus
  • Decision-making focus
  • Considering all stakeholders
  • Integration with corporate strategy

Implementing SHRM

• Implementing SHRM requires a clear understanding of an organization's short-term, medium-term, and long-term direction.
• It involves analyzing the organization's human resources, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and making changes to achieve strategic objectives.
• Changes may be needed in areas such as:
  • Culture
  • Organization design
  • Organizational effectiveness
  • Resourcing
  • Performance management
  • Reward management
  • Motivation
  • Commitment
  • Employee relations
  • Flexibility

SHRM in Construction

• Few construction companies take a truly long-term view and adopt SHRM policies.
• The achievement of SHRM priorities is dependent on creating the right structural and cultural conditions.
• This involves:
  • Designing an effective organization structure
  • Staffing the structure with suitable people
  • Managing the employment relationship effectively

Employee Resourcing

• Employee resourcing is concerned with planning for the needs of the organization and defining the roles and responsibilities.
• It involves:
  • Human resource planning
  • Recruitment and selection
  • Deployment and team formation
  • Performance management
  • Retention and training
  • Career development
  • Dismissal and redundancy

Human Resource Development

• Human resource development (HRD) is concerned with managing the performance of employees in a way that contributes to organizational objectives.
• It includes:
  • Training
  • Management development
  • Management of structures and career paths

Reward Management

• Reward management is concerned with defining the wage and benefit structures in a way that responds to the needs and expectations of employees.
• It involves:
  • Salary levels
  • Details of other benefits
  • Psychological contracts

Psychological Contracts

• Psychological contracts define the informal beliefs of each party as to their mutual obligations within the employment relationship.

• They are important for construction organizations because they acknowledge the 'soft' set of expectations held by the individual.

• Psychological contracts are influenced by:

  • An organization's objectives
  • External environmental forces

• They are important for managing the employment relationship and ensuring that employees' expectations are met.### Human Resource Planning

• Human resource planning involves identifying the need for an external recruitment policy, analyzing job requirements, and determining the availability of internal staff to fill skills gaps.

• Job analysis involves collecting information about existing human resources and the jobs they do, and analyzing how an organization can restructure to meet current and future business needs.

Job Analysis

• Job analysis is a process that involves:
  • Examine the complete organization and the fit of each person and job to future needs.
  • Identify deficiencies/misfits.
  • Redesign misfit jobs and people to better suit an organization's future needs.

Analysis of Internal Availability

• Analyzing internal availability involves:
  • Identifying skills gaps that need to be filled, internally or externally.
  • Checking the current and future availability of internal staff.
  • Analyzing future movements of people in terms of promotions, transfers, retirements, and terminations.

Analysis of Employee Turnover

• Employee turnover should be analyzed for:
  • Assessing the numbers of employees likely to be replaced in the future.
  • Identifying why people are leaving the organization to take action to retain them.
• An appropriate level of annual staff turnover is around 8%.

Preparing Job Descriptions and Specifications

• Job descriptions outline the specific responsibilities and duties associated with a job.
• Job specifications outline the educational experience and skills necessary to perform well on a job.

Recruitment

• Recruitment involves:
  • Attracting people who can fill skills gaps.
  • Influencing the number and types of applicants who apply for a job.
• Methods of recruitment include:
  • Internal sources (e.g., skills inventories, internal moonlighting).
  • External sources (e.g., media advertising, e-recruiting, social media, employment agencies, executive search firms).

Selection

• Selection is the process of choosing the best candidate for a job based on selection criteria.
• Selection criteria include:
  • Knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) dictated by the job.
  • Cognitive, psychomotor, physical, and interpersonal attributes.
  • Education and past experience.
  • Personal characteristics and personality types.

Categories of Criteria

• Cognitive criteria include:
  • Thinking, reasoning, remembering, imagining, learning words, and using language.
• Psychomotor criteria include:
  • Abilities learned through experience and practice.
• Physical criteria include:
  • Physical attributes and abilities.
• Interpersonal criteria include:
  • Social skills and abilities.
• Personal characteristics and personality types include:
  • Marital status, sex, age, and other personal characteristics.
  • Big Five personality factors (emotional stability, extroversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness).

Reliability and Validity of Selection Criteria

• Reliability refers to the stability or repeatability of a measurement.
• Validity refers to the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.
• Types of validity include:
  • Construct validity: measures the unobservable trait it claims to measure.
  • Criterion-related validity:predicts one or more important elements of job behavior.

The Selection Process

• Step 1: Preliminary screening (application blank and interview).
• Step 2: Employment interview.
• Step 3: Employment tests.
• Step 4: Reference checks and recommendations.
• Step 5: Selection decision.
• Step 6: Physical examinations.

The Selection Process Cont'd

• Application blanks: ask for enough information to determine whether the individual is minimally qualified for the position.
• Employment interviews: can be misleading, but are useful for assessing motivation, intelligence, and interpersonal skills.
• Types of interviews include:
  • Structured interviews: use a predetermined script.
  • Unstructured interviews: have no predetermined script.
  • Panel interviews: use a group of interviewers.
  • Individual interviews: one-on-one situation.
• Employment tests: include job sample performance tests, aptitude tests, cognitive ability tests, and personality tests.### The Selection Process
• Integrity tests are used for jobs that require honesty, such as banking, insurance, and government security/defense positions.
• The polygraph (lie detector) is an instrument that records changes in breathing, blood pressure, pulse, and skin response associated with sweating of palms, and then plots these reactions on paper.
• Self-assessment involves asking candidates to evaluate their own abilities, skills, knowledge, etc.
• Peer assessment involves peers providing rigorous and reliable assessments, often feeling uncomfortable doing so.

Graphology

• Graphology is the study of handwriting, assuming that handwriting style and content reflect personality attributes such as honesty, motivation, emotional stability, social skills, disposition, and loyalty.
• Examples of graphology include:
  • Right-hand slant indicating a more emotional person
  • Pressure on paper indicating energy levels
  • The size of script indicating the ability to concentrate

Bio Data

• Bio data is based on the assumption that a person's life history (education, age, marital status, number of children, employment history, etc.) shapes their attitudes and behavior (work performance, reliability, stability, etc.).

Astrology

• In the UK, less than 1% of applicants are selected using astrology, which believes that the position of the stars and planets at birth determines personality and behavior.

References

• References involve asking previous employers, supervisors, or colleagues to provide information about a job candidate's work performance, reliability, and personality.

Human Resource Development (HRD)

• HRD represents the developmental side of the SHRM cycle, focusing on improving career management and individual performance.
• The rationale behind investing in HRD is that investing in people will ensure they continue to contribute to the direction of the business.
• HRD promotes loyalty and motivation among employees by implementing:
  • Extended training schemes
  • Career-review systems
  • Performance-management systems

Staff Training and Development

• Training and development provide employees with information, skills, and understanding of the organization and its goals.
• Systematic and ad-hoc development programs ensure staff have the skills required for their current and future roles.
• Training and development can also serve as a motivating factor, indicating commitment to people and making them feel valued.

Orientation

• Orientation introduces new employees to the organization and their new tasks, managers, and work groups.
• Orientation helps new employees understand the work, firm, colleagues, and mission, and avoids the inefficient effects of culture shock.

Training and Development Programmes

• Continuous training and development of staff is essential for maintaining a healthy, motivated, and adaptable workforce.
• Training objectives include altering employee behavior to improve organizational goal achievement.

Performance Management

• Performance management aims to generate better results from individuals, teams, and the organization as a whole.
• It involves planning goals, targets, and standards, monitoring progress, and providing support where necessary.

Management Development and Career Management

• Management development ensures the organization has the managers available to meet present and future needs.
• Career management involves understanding career-progression dynamics within an organization and tailoring career plans for each manager.

Performance Appraisal Systems

• Performance appraisal measures employee contribution to the accomplishment of organizational objectives.
• It involves identifying rewards and penalties, and serves as an input to human resource planning and development.

Reward Management

• Reward management involves designing, implementing, and maintaining systems that support organizational performance improvement.
• Rewards can be monetary (pay, bonuses, stock options, etc.) or non-monetary (prizes, awards, promotions, etc.).
• Intrinsic rewards include satisfaction, recognition, responsibility, and challenge, while extrinsic rewards include salary, bonuses, and working conditions.

This quiz covers the introduction to Human Resource Management, including the importance of effective people management and the development of various schools of thought in the field.