HR Exam Content PDF - Mid-Term October 17th 2024

Mid-Term October 17th 2024 Steps in the strategic management of HR. 1. Organizational Mission, Goals, and strategy analysis a. Mission statement, goals that the organization seeks 2. Environmental Scan a. Major Forces i. E...

Mid-Term October 17th 2024 Steps in the strategic management of HR. 1. Organizational Mission, Goals, and strategy analysis a. Mission statement, goals that the organization seeks 2. Environmental Scan a. Major Forces i. Economic 1. Four critical Economic Forces: Economic Cycles, Global Trade, Knowledge Workers, Productivity and Innovation improvement ii. Technological 1. Three critical Technological Forces: Connectivity and work design (access to information), Automation, Data and analytics iii. Demographic 1. Four Critical Demographic Forces: Gender balance, Aging population, educational attainment of workers, Generational Shift (i.e cultural differences between Gen Z and Y) iv. Cultural 1. Two Critical Cultural Forces: Diversity and social justice, Ethics v. Legal 3. Analysis of Organizational Character and Culture a. Strategies should be formulated only after an analysis of the organization’s structure 4. Choice and Implementation of Human Resource Strategies a. Clear line of sight between HR Strategy VS Corporate Strategy 5. Review, Education and Audit of Human Resource Strategy a. Human Resource Audit: Review of HR strategies b. HR strategies should be reviewed periodically considering changing factors (Major Forces) The service role of the human resource department 1. Staff Authority: Authority to advise, not direct 2. Line Authority: Possessed by managers of operating departments, authority to make decisions 3. Functional Authority: HR department may be provided authority to make decisions 1  Methods of job data collection a. Interviews b. Focus Groups c. Questionnaires d. Employee Logs e. Observation f. Combinations Key considerations of job design 1. Organizational Consideration: Efficiency (Max outputs with Min. Inputs) & Workflow (balance between jobs to be efficient) 2. Ergonomic Considerations: Physical relationship between worker and work, fitting the task to worker instead of forcing employee to adapt to task. 3. Employee Considerations: a. Autonomy b. Variety: Use of different skills/perform different activities c. Task identity: Feeling of responsibility from doing a job d. Feedback e. Task Significance: Knowing that one’s work is important 4. Job Specialization Considerations: a. Job Rotation (i.e Assignment) b. Job Enlargement (i.e Range/skills) c. Job Enrichment (i.e Responsibility) d. Employee Involvement and Work Teams Collaboration 5. Environmental Considerations: a. Workforce Availability b. Social Expectations c. Work Practices Contents of job description and job specification Strategic importance of human resources plans 1. Job Identity: Job title, location, skill level, type of industry 2. Job Summary: Purpose & objectives, how the job is done 3. Duties and responsibilities: Explains what the job requires 4. Working conditions: Hours of work, safety & health regulations etc... 5. Approvals: Reviewed by jobholders and supervisors, accuracy of Job Analysis and Job Description 2 Job Specifications: Written statement that explains the KSAO’s needed to do a job (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Other characteristics) Methods for estimating an organization 's demand for HR a. Forecasting Techniques for estimating HR demand i. Expert: 1. Informal and Instant Decisions: Expert forecasts of future HR needs 2. Nominal Group Technique: Groups of managers are asked to make forecasts, ideas ranked by the group 3. Delphi Technique: Groups of experts are surveyed, outcomes are summarized and shared with group, surveyed again until opinions converge. ii. Trend: 1. Extrapolation: Extending past rates of change into the future 2. Indexation: Matching employment growth with an index 3. Statistical Analysis: More sophisticated statistical analyses allow for changes underlying causes of demand iii. Other: 1. Budget and Planning Analysis: Organizations that need HR planning generally have detailed budgets and long-range plans 2. New Venture Analysis: Planners estimate human resource needs by making comparisons with similar operations 3. Simulation and Predictive Models: Data analysis models Solutions for shortages or surpluses of HR -Oversupply (Surplus) HEADCOUNT REDUCTION a. Layoffs: Withdrawal of employment b. Leave or absence without pay c. Incentives for voluntary separation: Enticement to leave early (Buyout or severance) d. Termination: Separation from the organization for several reasons (Discipline, operation, financial) ATTRITION a. Resignation, retirement or passing b. Hiring Freeze: Restrict filling openings with external applicants 3  c. Phased retirement offers: Allow work activity reduction and gradually phase into retirement ALTERNATIVE WORK ARRANGEMENTS a. Job Sharing: Splitting a single position between two+ employees (productivity/paperwork) b. Using part-time employees: Reduce work hours and labour costs -Shortage HIRE EMPLOYEES a. Hire full-time employees: Where internal transfer or promotion isn’t feasible b. Hire part-time workers: Popular strategy for meeting human resource needs CONTRACT OUT OF THE WORK a. Source to service provider: a. Independent contractor: freelancer b. Consultants: hired to provide expert advice and counsel in an area c. Co-Source: contracting by bringing an external team to support and work with an internal team d. Outsource: contracting tasks to outside agencies or persons e. Crowdsource: a function once performed by employees is outsourced to an undefined network of people (open-call) DEVELOP EMPLOYEES INTERNALLY Promotions: Move an employee from one job to another that is higher in pay, responsibility, and/or organizational level CREATING FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS a. Overtime: Employees work beyond the normal hours b. Flexible retirement: Extend the contributions of employees close to retirement c. Float and transfer: Movement of an employee from one job to another that is relatively equal in pay, responsibility and organizational level Internal and External Supply Estimates Internal Supply Estimates (HR Audits) a. Skills inventory: Summary of catalogued worker’s skills and abilities b. Management and Leadership Inventories: Reports of management capabilities c. Replacement Charts: Visual representation of likely replacements for each job (retirement, status, potential) d. Replacement Summaries: Lists of likely replacements for each job and their relative strengths and weaknesses 4  External Supply Estimates a. Labour Market Analysis: Study of the firm’s labour market to evaluate the present or future availability b. Community Attitudes: Affects nature of the labour market (Anti-business or nongrowth, social justice movements) c. Demographic Trends: Affects the availability of external supply (Employment and Social Development in Canada) Strategic importance of the recruitment function Recruitment decisions have profound implications for strategic success: 1. Competitive advantage 2. Benefits of a diverse workforce 3. Focusing on employee development 4. Investing resources into recruitment Constraints on recruitment ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES 1. Promote-from-Within Policies: Gives present employees the first opportunity 2. Compensation Policies: Must adhere to stated pay ranges 3. Employment Status Policies: i.e limitations against hiring part-time 4. International Hiring Policies: Foreign jobs may need to be staffed with locals HUMAN RESOURCE PLANS: Which jobs should be filled by external recruiting VS internally? DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS: Consider employment equity programs RECRUITER HABITS: A recruiter’s past success can lead to habits ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS: 1. Leading Economic Indicators 2. Predicted Versus Actual Sales 3. Employment Statistics JOB REQUIREMENTS: Job analysis information is useful COSTS: Identifying and attracting recruits INDUCEMENTS: Incentives to attract recruits 5  Evaluating the recruitment function Cost per hire: The dollar cost per person hired Quality of Hires and Cost: Quality of people hired from various sources Offers – Applicants Ratio: Ratio between the number of job offers and total applicants for each of the recruitment method Time Lapsed per Hire: Time taken to fill a position Recruitment abroad Many employers are looking abroad to secure skilled, hard-to-find employee. Canada has been recruiting a large number of skilled workers from other countries. Advantages: - May be less expensive (at least initially) Disadvantages: - Firms hiring abroad will need to train new recruits to adapt to local and organizational culture; - Getting employment visas may be also time-consuming. Steps in conducting an employment interview 1. Interviewer preparation ▫ Prepare interview questions with an accompanying scoring guide for strong and weak responses ▫ Be prepared for the interviewee’s questions ▫ Explain jobs duties / performance standards / pays / benefits / other areas of interest ▫ Set the interview protocol with the panel (if there’s so) 2. Creation of rapport ▫ Great the candidate ▫ Make small talk ▫ Create trust with the interviewee 3. Information exchange ▫ Avoid asking the interviewee if they have any questions at the beginning ▫ Use open questions 6  ▫ Avoid Yes / No questions 4. Termination of the interview ▫ At the start of the interview make sure to set candidate expectations, so they know when it ends: # questions, total time ▫ Use a closure question and inform of the following steps 5. Evaluate of candidate ▫ Record the candidate’s specific answers onto the scoring guide ▫ Note the candidate’s general questions Interviewer & interviewee errors Interviewer: - Halo effect: Interviewer who use limited information about an applicant to bias their evaluation of that person’s other characteristics - Leading discussion: By the way you frame your questions you are leading the candidate to answer what you desired - Stereotypes: prejudices about a specific group - Interviewer domination: Interviewer using the interview to brag about THEIR success or carry a social conversation instead of interviewing the candidate - Contrast errors: When interviewers compare the candidates to those who came before instead of staying objective Interviewee: - May be trying to cover job-related weaknesses and nervousness Example: a) Playing games (acting nonchalant) b) Talking too much c) Boasting (sell themselves even if it is to embellish who they are) d) Not listening e) Being unprepared Applicant screenings (tools) Goal: Remove from consideration applicants who do not meet qualifications 7 Weighted application blanks: provide a means of identifying which of these aspects reliably distinguish groups of satisfactory and unsatisfactory job incumbents. Pros: - Useful in predicting a number of different indicators including job performance - Cost-effective and valuable for jobs positions with large number of applicants Biographical information blanks: Questionnaire completed relating to their personal history and life experiences Ensure the application is useful and meets legal requirements Purposes of onboarding, training, and development. The process for preparing a training program and a Training system: from assessment to evaluation Strategic Human Resource Development PURPOSE: Socialize the new hire to the organization, match the employee’s skills and abilities with job demands, and tap their potential for future job roles, all while meeting the employee’s career objectives. NEEDS ASSESSMENT: Diagnoses present problems and future challenges that can be met through training or development TRAINING OBJECTIVES Desired behaviour: to be acquired, behavioural statement. Conditions: under which the action or behaviour will occur (to guide performance) Performance criteria: for judging whether the objective has been achieved. PROGRAM CONTENT & LEARNING PRINCIPLES: Participation, Repetition, Relevance, Transference (applicability in actual job), Feedback. EVALUATION OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT: 1. Are learners satisfied? Would they recommend the training? 2. Were skills and knowledge acquired? 3. Are there observed behavioural changes? 8 4. Which organizational results are improved? 5. Cost-Benefit assessment (Revenue – Costs = Profit) Job satisfaction (determinants, contributors, and consequences) Motivation theories (need theories, self-determination theory, process theories) JOB SATISFACTION DETERMINANTS Distributive: when people receive outcomes (rewards and resources) they think they deserve from their jobs. Procedural: when people perceive the process used to determine outcomes as reasonable. Interactional: when people feel that they have received respectful and informative communication about some outcomes. Disposition: factors such as personality traits related to positive and negative affect influence job satisfaction (Twin-studies, Stable over time). Mood: states (positive or negative) are proportionally correlated to job satisfaction (Affective events theory). Emotion at work can broaden cognitive processing (positive emotions) or lead to critical evaluations of circumstances (negative emotions). CONTRIBUTORS 1. Mentally challenging work that tests skills and abilities. 2. Adequate compensation 3. Career opportunities 4. People, interpersonal relationships CONSEQUENCES 1. Turnover (and absenteeism) 2. Performance 3. Organizational citizenship behaviour 4. Customer satisfaction and profit 9  Guidelines for effectively communicating performance feedback to employees. 1. Emphasize positive aspects of employee performance. 2. Tell each employee the evaluation is to improve performance, not discipline 3. Provide immediate positive and developmental feedback in a private location 4. Review performance formally at least annually or more frequently 5. Make criticisms on performance, not on personality 6. Identify specific actions the employee can take to improve performance 7. Emphasize the evaluator’s willingness to assist the employee’s efforts and to improve performance 8. End the evaluation session by stressing the aspects of the employee’s performance and reviewing plans to improve performance 10  Sources for performance ratings - Peers: Employees may be on their best behaviour when their boss is around. Peers provide team- based feedback on interpersonal, leadership, and networking skills. - Self-Appraisals: Self-appraisals are useful for individual improvement; self-ratings are often higher than ratings by other. - Direct Reports: Are helpful in providing feedback on leadership/management skills. May fear retribution for providing negative feedback on their boss. - Customers/clients: customer/clients view employee from a client perspective and includes customer complaints and comments and client feedback. - Supervisors: Provide opportunity to highlight performance. Supervisors/managers are responsible for the performance of their staff. Comparative and noncomparative evaluation methods Comparative evaluation methods - Ranking method: o Employees ranked from best to worst o Subject to halo and recency effect - Force distributions: o Employees are sorted into categories based on performance o Usually, a certain proportion must be put into each category Noncomparative evaluation methods - Ratin scale: rater’s opinion (subjective) given for each performance objective (1-low to 3-high) - Bars: Specific examples of (in) effective behaviours scaled (job-related, practical, and standardized) - BOS: satisfactory versus frequency - Test & Observation: May include paper-and-pencil knowledge tests or an actual demonstration of skills. - Management-by-objectives: Employee and supervisor jointly establish future performance. 11