HR Study Guide PDF

H/r study guide Thursday, September 19, 2024 3:45 PM Unit 1: Human resources: people who make up the workforce of an organization Human Capital: knowledge, education, training, skills, expertise of an organizations worksforce - Investment in human capital creates stronger organizations Human...

H/r study guide Thursday, September 19, 2024 3:45 PM Unit 1: Human resources: people who make up the workforce of an organization Human Capital: knowledge, education, training, skills, expertise of an organizations worksforce - Investment in human capital creates stronger organizations Human resource management (HRM) - management of people in orgs - Operational function - administrative day to day functions - Strategic function - align employee efforts with organizations strategic goals ○ Strategic goals - specific financial and non financial results an organization aims to achieve to maintain a competitive advantage - Corporate Culture (organizational culture) ○ Identity of an organization promoted by senior leadership and implemented through h/r systems ○ Core values and beliefs developed intentionally to clarify standards of behavior - Corporate Climate (organizational climate) ○ Prevailing atmosphere within an org (vibe) ○ Perception of working environment impacted by leadership style, communication, HR policies ▪ Has an effect on mood, motivation, productivity, job satisfaction - Benefits of HRM ○ Reduced cost ▪ Greater retention and better hr systems (ex compensation) ○ Greater engagement ▪ Emotional commitment (diff from job satisfaction) ○ Better performance ▪ Better employee performance, products and increased profits Evidence-Based HR Evaluating human resources practices against available research to achieve desired outcomes and results in greater efficiency - Research Methods ○ Variables: features that researchers aim to study ▪ Independent variable (grouping variable, controlled) ▪ Dependent variable (response variable, measured) ○ Primary ▪ Generate new info (experiments, surveys) ○ Secondary ▪ Examine existing info from studies ▪ True Experiments □ Controlled settings □ Randomly assigned to groups □ Does IV have an effect on DV ▪ Quasi Experiments □ Conducted in field/natural settings □ Randomly selected from existing groups □ Does IV have an effect on DV ▪ Survey Research □ No distinction between IV and DV □ Controlled or natural settings ▪ Correlation the relationship and direction of two variables □ Correlation may not be causal Spurious: two variables appear to be related but are not Legal Issues in Human Resource Management - Charter of Rights and Freedoms ○ Federal law 1982 ○ Guarantees rights and freedoms ○ Supreme law (all legislation must meet Charter standards) ▪ Equality section 15 (anti discrimination) - Human rights Legislation □ Prohibits Unequal or unfair treatment of a person based upon some personal characteristic Applicable in employment and in selling goods MOS 1021 Page 1  ○ Ontario Human Rights Code Prohibited Grounds ▪ Direct Discrimination: refusal to hire/train based on characteristic, unequal treatment ▪ Indirect Discrimination: Neutral policy has unintended negative effect - Bona Fide Occupational Requirements (BFOR) ○ Attribute on which hiring, promotion, retention decisions can be justifiably made even if discriminatory because they are deemed neccesary ▪ Meiorin Test (Supreme Court of Canada, 1999) □ Must Establish Rational connection to job performance Adopted the characteristic in good faith Reasonable necessity: the characteristic cannot be accommodated without undue hardship ◊ Undue hardship: case by case basis of accomodation is risky, unsafe or too financially taxing □ Duty to accommodate Requirement to adjust policies, remove barriers, and demonstrate maximum effort in exploring adjustment options Unit 2: Job analysis: process of collecting detailed info, includes tasks, responsibilities, human attributes, carried out on a continuous basis Job: the collection of related tasks, duties and responsibilities that are grouped together Position: specific instance of a job held by a single person Why is it important Training: clarifies knowledge skills and abilities for jobs and identifies skill gaps Performance Management: performance fo employees is assed through (legally defensible) criteria Compensation & Benefits: justifies pay differences and value of job Recruitment & Selection: more effective hiring in line with job and better retention Job analysis STEP 1 Review Background Information Digital Database: National Occupational Classification (NOC) Created by the federal government for jobs main duties employment requirements and additional info Organizational Charts: Visual diagram depicting the structure of an org - Bureaucratic ○ Organized ○ separation between units(less collaboration) ○ Common in larger orgs MOS 1021 Page 2  - Flat ○ Smaller orgs ○ Broad jobs ○ Empowerment and cooperation ○ Disorganization - Matrix ○ Multiple projects and products ○ Conflicts possible decisions may be slow STEP 2 CHOOSE SOURCE of JOB INFO Subject Matter Experts (best to consult as many as possible all have flaws - Incumbent ○ Person holding position ▪ Misinformation possible - Supervisor ○ Has charge over work place ▪ Less knowledge about day to day - Job Analyst ○ Can provide objective assessment ▪ Organization may be limited STEP 3 Gather job Info Questionnaire - Survey by sme ○ Either structured or open ended Position Analysis Questionnaire PAQ - 195 items about job elements ○ General behaviours not specific to work activities - Standardized and easy to administer - but reading level high poor differentiation between jobs Interview - A group interview can be used when a large numebr of people are doing the same work - Supervisors should nto be present should be structured Direct observation of incumbents - Record nature, frequency, duration, outputs ○ May change behaviour when watched STEP 4 Develop Key Documents (Products) MOS 1021 Page 3  - Supervisors should nto be present should be structured Direct observation of incumbents - Record nature, frequency, duration, outputs ○ May change behaviour when watched STEP 4 Develop Key Documents (Products) Job description (what a job entails) - Tasks, duties, responsibilites, environment, equipment Job specification - Characteristics needed to perform a job, knowledge, skills, KSAO Competency Modelling - Alternative to traditional job analysis - Method used to competencies - Focused on capabilities of people doing the work rather than on the work itself Competency Categories Core - central to org culture applys to all Cross Functional - apply to a gvien job group Functional - key skills that apply to a specific job Critical Incident Technique (CIT) 1. Critical incidents: observable job behaviours that either reflect superior or inferior performance 2. Critical incidents are sorted in to themes/competencies (ex communication) 3. Each competency is defined and paired with behavioural indicators Job design Process of establishing the roles and responsibilites associated with jobs Developing new jobs or redesigning old jobs Goal is to maximize - Job performance - Efficiency - Job Satisfaction ○ Meaningfulness of work ▪ Variety ▪ Identity (completion start to finish) ▪ Significance ○ Responsibility of outcomes ○ Knowledge of results - Strategies include ○ Job rotation ▪ Temporarily Moving employees (requires investment in lots of training) Job enlargement(horizontal loading) ▪ Adding activities within the same level to an existing role (broadening ▪ Effects diminish over time and quantity can be overwhelming ○ Job Enrichment (vertical loading) ▪ Increasing depth and complexity of job tasks ▪ More supervision, more challenging work Unit 3: Job Acquisition Recruitment: - Process of attracting employees - Job description and job specification - Process ends with the generation of an applicant pool (set of candidates who express interest in the position) ○ Internal ▪ Seeking individuals who currently hold positions □ Advantages (lower risk, less spending on recuirtment materials, boosts employee morale □ Disadvantages: maintenance of status quo, may create conflict (poor acceptance of new roles) ○ External ▪ Seeking individuals who do not currently hold positions in the organization □ Active : actively looking for new opportunities (available now) □ Passive: nto actively looking (not available) ▪ Online Recruitment ex job websites, corporate websites □ Low cost to post □ Large and diverse applicant pool □ High cost to review □ Disadvantages those without tech ▪ Print Media Recruitment ex newspapers, magazine, trade journals □ Can target specific candidates (trade journals for specialized work) □ Long lead times are common (4-6 months) ▪ Campus Recruitment □ Diverse applicant pool □ Early identification of top talent □ Low experience (invest in training) □ May not be long term (50% leave first year) Advantages (larger applicant pool, greater innovation) Disadvantages (higher risk, mor taxing on resource, may affect workplace morale) MOS 1021 Page 4  □ Low experience (invest in training) □ May not be long term (50% leave first year) Advantages (larger applicant pool, greater innovation) Disadvantages (higher risk, mor taxing on resource, may affect workplace morale) ○ Managing Expectations in Recruitment ▪ Manage employee expectations provide a balanced view of organization □ Employer Brand: reflects an orgs reputation as a place to work Favorable features (compensation, flexibility, social responsibility, social events) □ Realistic Job Preview Tools that provide candidates wit ha realistic view of what a job entails Positive and negative of a job (hazards, monotony, stressors) Manages expectations Increases retention Selection Step 1: Preliminary Screening - Review submitted application materials (application forms, resumes, cover letters) - Eliminate candidates who do not meet selection criteria ○ Application form ▪ Standardized (comparable) ▪ Includes (contact info, education, training, certifications, work experience (not prohibited grounds) ○ Resume (CV) ▪ Rich details possible but not standardized (info varies) ▪ Potential inclusion of problematic information Step 2: Selection Testing - Administer tests to retained candidates - Access qualities that are identified as important through job analysis - Select tests that provide occur - Select tests that provide accurate results. reliability and validity of a test is established before ○ Reliability in selection testing ▪ Extent to which a test produces consistent or stabel results □ Test-Retest: test produces same/similar results across raters Test of leadership: administered two weeks apart to an individual gives same score □ Inter-Rater: test produces similar results across multiple raters Test of leadership: ratings from two members of an org are same for an individual Validity in selection Testing ◊ Extent to which a test measures what is supposed to measure ◊ Construct Validity :  Convergent: correlates positively with results from similar tests  Discriminant: do not correlate with results from dissimilar tests ◊ Criterion-Related Validity  Concurrent: which test scores are related to current performance  Predictive: scores are related to future performance Test Types - Cognitive Ability ○ General level of intelligence, proficiency and efficiency at processing thoughts ○ Identify effective decision makers ▪ Advantages: predictive of performance and adjustment, fast and easy to administer) ▪ Limitations: test takers may have negative reactions, may have adverse impact on minority groups Personality ○ Pattern of thoughts, feelings and actions that are characteristic of a person ○ Personality consists of a collection of traits ▪ Big Five Personality Model (Ocean) MOS 1021 Page 5  ▪ Advantages □ Predictive of job performance ( C □ Predictive of training success ( O □ Predictive of employee engagement (E, A Low N) □ Fast and easy to administer ( ▪ Disadvantages □ Susceptible to faking (social desirability) □ Respondents give answers which will "look good" Step 3: Selection Interview ▪ Multi-purpose (qualifications, communication, interpersonal skills) ▪ Can promote employee brand ▪ Illusion of validity (employers believe interviews are valid predictors of job performance) □ Disadvantages Halo/Horn Effect: Initial impression distorts how candidate is assesed (biased interpretations) Similar to me Bias: favourable ratings when candidate is similar to interviewer (impacts diversity) Leading: verbal or non verbal, leads candidate to expected answer Step 4: Background Investigation ▪ Verification of details provided durign the selection process ▪ Must have signed permission □ Assesing □ Education □ Employment history □ References Details about candidates from provided references Standard questions or surveys ◊ Growing concerns about accusations of defamation (libel: published) or slander (spoken) - Negligent hiring ○ Legal claim against employer ○ Fails to verify details ○ Employee causes harm to other employees, org ○ Step 5: Selection Decision ▪ Multiple cut off □ Cut off is established for each selection tool □ All applicants complete the tests, if they meet all they are retained ▪ Multiple hurdles □ Cut off for each test, must pass each one by one ▪ Compensatory Model □ Applicants complete all tests □ Their score on each test is inputted □ Ranked on overall score at end MOS 1021 Page 6