Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management PDF

Chapter (1): Introduction to Human Resource Management WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT An organization consists of people with formally assigned roles who work together to achieve the organizations goals. A manager is the person responsible for accomplishing the organizations goals, who does...

Chapter (1): Introduction to Human Resource Management WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT An organization consists of people with formally assigned roles who work together to achieve the organizations goals. A manager is the person responsible for accomplishing the organizations goals, who does so by managing the efforts of the organizations people. Most experts agree that managing involves five functions: planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. In total, these functions represent the management process. Some of the specific activities involved in each function include: * Planning. Establishing goals and standards; developing rules and procedures; developing plans and forecasting. * Organizing. Giving each subordinate a specific task; establishing departments; delegating authority to subordinates; establishing channels of authority and communication; coordinating subordinates work. * Staffing. Determining what type of people you should hire; recruiting prospective employees; selecting employees; training and developing employees; setting performance standards; evaluating performance; counseling employees; compensating employees. * Leading. Getting others to get the job done; maintaining morale; motivating subordinates. * Controlling. Setting standards such as sales quotas, quality standards, or production levels; checking to see how actual performance compares with these standards; taking corrective action, as needed. In this book, we are going to focus on one of these functions the staffing, personnel management, or human resource management (HRM) function. Human resource management is the process of acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating employees, and of attending to their labor relations, health and safety, and fairness concerns. The topics we discuss should therefore provide you with the concepts and techniques you need to perform the people or personnel aspects of your management job. These include: 1|Page * Conducting job analyses (determining the nature of each employee s job) * Planning labor needs and recruiting job candidates. * Selecting job candidates. * Orienting and training new employees. * Managing wages and salaries (compensating employees). * Providing incentives and benefits. * Appraising performance. * Communicating (interviewing, counseling, disciplining). * Training and developing managers. * Building employee commitment. Why Is Human Resource Management Important to All Managers? These concepts and techniques important to all managers for several reasons. AVOID PERSONNEL MISTAKES First, having a command of this knowledge will help you avoid the sorts of personnel mistakes you don t want to make while managing. For example, no manager wants to: * Hire the wrong person for the job * Experience high turnover * Have your people not doing their best * Waste time with useless interviews * Have your company taken to court because of your discriminatory actions * Have your company cited under federal occupational safety laws for unsafe practices * Have some employees think their salaries are unfair relative to others in the organization * Allow a lack of training to undermine your department s effectiveness * Commit any unfair labor practices Line and Staff Aspects of Human Resource Management All managers are, in a sense, human resource managers, because they all get involved in recruiting, interviewing, selecting, and training their employees. Yet most firms also have human resource departments with their own top managers. How do the duties of this human resource manager and department relate to the human resource duties of sales and production and other managers? Answering this requires a short definition of line versus staff authority. Authority is the right to make decisions, to direct the work of others, and to give orders. Managers usually distinguish between line authority and 2|Page staff authority. In organizations, having what managers call line authority traditionally gives managers the right to issue orders to other managers or employees. Line authority therefore creates a superior (order giver) subordinate (order receiver) relationship. When the vice president of sales tells her sales director to get the sales presentation ready by Tuesday, she is exercising her line authority. Staff authority gives a manager the right to advise other managers or employees. It creates an advisory relationship. When the human resource manager suggests that the plant manager use a particular selection test, he or she is exercising staff authority. On the organization chart, managers with line authority are line managers. Those with staff (advisory) authority are staff managers. In popular usage, people tend to associate line managers with managing departments (like sales or production) that are crucial for the company s survival. Staff managers generally run departments that are advisory or supportive, like purchasing, and human resource management. Human resource managers are usually staff managers. They assist and advise line managers in areas like recruiting, hiring, and compensation. Line Managers Human Resource Duties However, line managers still have many human resource duties. This is because the direct handling of people has always been part of every line manager s duties, from president down to first-line supervisors. For example, one major company outlines its line supervisors responsibilities for effective human resource management under these general headings: 1. Placing the right person in the right job 2. Starting new employees in the organization (orientation) 3. Training employees for jobs that are new to them 4. Improving the job performance of each person 5. Gaining cooperation and developing smooth working relationships 6. Interpreting the company s policies and procedures 7. Controlling labor costs 8. Developing the abilities of each person 9. Creating and maintaining department morale 10. Protecting employees health and physical condition 3|Page In small organizations, line managers may carry out all these personnel tasks unassisted. But as the organization grows, they need the assistance, specialized knowledge, and advice of a separate human resource staff. The human resource department provides this specialized assistance. Human Resource Manager s Duties In providing this specialized assistance, the human resource manager carries out three distinct functions: 1. A line function. The human resource manager directs the activities of the people in his or her own department, and perhaps in related areas (like the plant cafeteria). 2. A coordinative function. The human resource manager also coordinates personnel activities, a duty often referred to as functional authority (or functional control). Here he or she ensures that line managers are implementing the firms human resource policies and practices (for example, adhering to its sexual harassment policies). 3. Staff (assist and advise) functions. Assisting and advising line managers is the heart of the human resource manager s job. He or she advises the CEO so the CEO can better understand the personnel aspects of the company s strategic options. HR assists in hiring, training, evaluating, rewarding, counseling, promoting, and firing employees. It administers the various benefit programs (health and accident insurance, retirement, vacation, and so on). It helps line managers comply with equal employment and occupational safety laws, and plays an important role in handling grievances and labor relations. It carries out an innovator role, by providing up-to-date information on current trends and new methods for better utilizing the company s employees (or human resources ). It plays an employee advocacy role, by representing the interests of employees within the framework of its primary obligation to senior management. Although human resource managers generally can't wield line authority (outside their departments), they are likely to exert implied authority. This is because line managers know the human resource manager has top management s ear in areas like testing and affirmative action. The size of the human resource department reflects the size of the employer. For a very large employer, an organization chart containing a full complement of specialists for each HR function. Examples of human resource management specialties include: * Recruiters. Search for qualified job applicants. 4|Page * Equal employment opportunity (EEO) coordinators. Investigate and resolve EEO grievances; examine organizational practices for potential violations; and compile and submit EEO reports. * Job analysts. Collect and examine information about jobs to prepare job descriptions. * Compensation managers. Develop compensation plans and handle the employee benefits program. * Training specialists. Plan, organize, and direct training activities. * Labor relations specialists. Advise management on all aspects of union management relations. New Approaches to Organizing HR Employers are also offering human resource services in new ways. For example, some organize their HR services around four groups: transactional, corporate, embedded, and centers of expertise. * The transactional HR group uses centralized call centers and outsourcing arrangements (such as with benefits advisors) to provide support for day-to-day transactional activities (such as changing benefits plans and employee assistance and counseling). In one survey, about 75% of respondents said their firms were providing transactional, administrative human resource services through such arrangements. * The corporate HR group focuses on assisting top management in top level big picture issues such as developing and explaining the personnel aspects of the company s long-term strategic plan. * The embedded HR unit assigns HR generalists (also known as relationship managers or HR business partners ) directly to departments like sales and production. They provide the localized human resource management assistance the departments need. * The centers of expertise are like specialized HR consulting firms within the company for instance, they provide specialized assistance in areas such as organizational change. 5|Page