the strategic management of human resources october 18, 2015 guest lecturer: deshia leonhirth, mba,...
TRANSCRIPT
The Strategic Management of Human Resources
October 18, 2015
Guest lecturer:
Deshia Leonhirth, MBA, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of South Carolina Upstate
Learning Objectives• Explain strategic & administrative actions of HRM
• Assess current environmental factors influencing HRM
• Describe the legal environment of HRM
• Define functions of workforce planning, recruitment and retention
• Classify methods of employee compensation
• Describe employee evaluation methods
• Discuss HRM issues
Strategic & Administrative functions• Strategic- Compete for labor
– Adequate labor supply and mix of quality and committed professionals to provide services
– Performance is contingent on individual human performance – Asset to create a competitive advantage
• Administrative- Function and action steps to support HRM– Recruiting, retention, and developing staff
HRM and the Organization
• The links between organizational structure, strategy and culture and how all of these aspects influence and are influenced by the HR function.
• Organization “A social arrangement for achieving controlled performance in pursuit of collective goals (Buchanan & Huczynski).”
• Organizational strategy as “the process of positioning the organization in its competitive environment and implementing actions to compete successfully (French et
al., 2011).”
Structure • Mintzberg (1980) extends thinking beyond structural aspects by
considering work constellations, flow of informal communication, flow of formal authority, flow of regulated activity, and the flow of an ad hoc decision process.
• The formal system of task and reporting relationships that control, coordinate and motivate employees to work together to achieve organizational goals.
Organization Structure (Mintzberg)
• Six basic parts:
1) Strategic Apex (top management)
2) Middle Line (middle management)
3) Operating Core (operations, operational processes)
4) Technostructure (analysts that design systems, processes, etc.)
5) Support Staff (support outside of operating workflow)
6) Ideology (halo of beliefs and traditions; norms, values, culture)
Structure and Strategy
• Structure involves the coordination of activities to achieve organizational goals
• Goals are linked to the strategy of the organization• If the management makes changes to the strategy
does this have an impact on the structure?
Mintzberg’s Criticism of Business Strategy
• Often, emphasized the importance of emergent strategy, which arises informally at any level in an organization, as an alternative or a complement to deliberate strategy, which is determined consciously either by top management or with the acquiescence (reluctance of acceptance) of top management.
• Activity: The debate about whether strategy precedes structure (or vice-versa) has been in existence for over half a century. Perhaps this is analogous to the chicken and egg debate, and may prove to be a rather futile discussion. However, consider the extent to which an organization decides its strategy from its internal capability (the resources that it has in order to achieve goals), or the extent to which it scans the external environment, then marries up the internal requirements in order to meet this. It could be argued that an internally driven organization is contingent upon structural configurations, while an externally driven organization is contingent upon strategic planning. Argue the case for: 1. Strategy preceding structure. 2. Structure preceding strategy
“Culture will eat strategy for breakfast!”
Environment• The external space beyond an organization that includes other organizations
and influences that affect the organization– Declining economy– Declining supply of workers– Changes in policy (Affordable Care Act)– Quality of available applicant pool– Increasing competition in some industries
Employees drive organizational performance.
True or False.
Why or why not?
Key Functions of HRM
Workforce Planning
• Job analysis
• Workforce planning
• Establishing position descriptions
• Recruitment, selection, hiring
• Orientation
Retention• Employee relations & Mgmt• Training & development• Compensation & benefits• Employee assistance programs• Performance assessment• Leadership development• Employee suggestion programs
Activity
1. Think of BMW Manufacturing. What defines the organization? To what extent does the product, the brand, the reputation, or any other relevant factor(s) define what the organization is?
2. Is this an organization that you would like to work for, and if so why?
Now do the same thing for McDonald’s
U.S. Legal Environment
• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)– The equal right of all citizens to the opportunity to obtain
employment regardless of their gender, age, race, country of origin, religion, marital status or disabilities.
– Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces employment laws.
Legal Environment
• Contemporary challenges for managers– How to eliminate sexual harassment– How to make accommodations for employees with
disabilities– Preexisting conditions
Components of HRM
• HRM activities– Recruitment and
selection– Training and
development– Performance appraisal
and feedback– Pay and benefits– Labor relations
Workforce Planning
• Activities that managers engage in to forecast their current and future needs for human resources
Workforce Planning
• Demand forecasts– Estimates the qualifications and numbers of employees the
firm will need given its goals strategies• Supply forecasts
– Estimates the availability and qualifications of current employees now and in the future, as well as the supply of qualified workers in the external labor market
Job Analysis
• Job Analysis– Identifying the tasks, duties and responsibilities
that make up a job and the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the job
– Should be done for each job in the organization
Job Analysis
• Job analysis methods– Observing what current workers do– Having workers and manages fill out questionnaires
• Outcome: Cleary state the responsibilities, duties, and tasks of every person within the HSO
Components of HRM
• Recruitment and Selection– Used to attract and hire new employees who have
the abilities, skills, and experiences that will help an organization achieve its goals.
Selection Process
Selection Process
• Background Information– Helpful to screen out applicants who are
lacking key qualifications– Determine which qualified applicants are
more promising than others– Which department should be responsible
for this? One or multiple?
Components of HRM
• Pay & Benefits
– Includes employees’ base salaries, pay raises, and bonuses
– Determined by characteristics of the organization and the job and levels of performance
– Benefits are based on membership in an organization
Compensation
• Basis: specialized knowledge and skills, experience, ability to perform required tasks, and average wages that are specific to labor market
• Incentives• Pay-for-performance• Gainsharing or goal-sharing• Benefits
Pay & Benefits
• Pay level– The relative position of an organization’s incentives in comparison with
those of other firms in the same industry employing similar kinds of workers• Managers can decide to offer low, average or high relative wages.• High wages attract and retain high performers but raise costs; low
wages can cause turnover and lack of motivation but provide lower costs.
Annual Hours Worked
Source: OECD, Labor Market Indicators, 2012.
5-31
Psychological factors
• Motives• Perception• Ability and knowledge• Attitudes• Personality• Lifestyles
Motivation
• According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary ….– Motive
• “something (a need or desire) that causes a person to act.”
– Motivate• “to provide with a motive.”
– Motivation• “the act or process of motivating.”
Theories of Motivation
• Psychologists study motivation from the perspectives of:– Needs at different levels– Extrinsic factors– Intrinsic factors– Integration of needs, extrinsic and intrinsic factors
Maslow’s Hierarchy of NeedsSatisfaction progression:• Physiological needs – food, water, sexual drive, etc.• Safety needs – shelter, jobs, pay, etc.• Belonging needs – social interactions, etc.• Esteem needs – status, recognition, etc.• Self-actualization needs – achievement, personal
development and growth, etc.
Selection Process
• Interviews– Structured interviews where managers ask each applicant the
same job-related questions.– Unstructured interviews that resemble normal conversations.– Usually structured interviews preferred; bias is possible in
unstructured interviews.
Selection Process
• References
– Knowledgeable sources who know the applicants’ skills, abilities, and other personal characteristics
– Many former employers are reluctant to provide negative information
Components of HRM
• Training and Development– Ensures that organizational members develop the skills and
abilities that will enable them to perform their jobs effectively in the present and the future
– Changes in technology and the environment require that organizational members learn new techniques and ways of working
Training & Development
• Needs Assessment– An assessment of which employees need
training or development and what type of skills or knowledge they need to acquire.
Training and Development
Components of HRM
• Performance Appraisal and Feedback– Provides managers with the information they need to make
good human resources decisions about how to train, motivate, and reward organizational members
– Feedback from performance appraisal serves a developmental purpose for members of an organization
Performance Appraisal & Feedback
• Performance Appraisal– The evaluation of employees’ job performance and contributions to
their organization.• Performance Feedback
– The process through which managers share performance appraisal information, give subordinates an opportunity to reflect on their own performance, and develop with subordinates, plans for the future.
Measures of Performance: Graphic rating scale
Measures of Performance: Behavioral Observation Scale
Who Appraises Performance?
Who Appraises Performance?
• Self– Self appraisals can supplement manager view
• Peer appraisal– Coworkers provide appraisal; common in team settings
• 360 Degree– A performance appraisal by peers, subordinates, superiors, and
clients who are in a position to evaluate a manager’s performance
Effective Performance Feedback
• Formal appraisals
– An appraisal conducted at a set time during the year and based on performance dimensions that were specified in advance
• Informal appraisals
– An unscheduled appraisal of ongoing progress and areas for improvement
Effective Feedback Tips
• Be specific and focus on behaviors or outcomes that are correctable and within a worker’s ability to improve.
• Approach performance appraisal as an exercise in problem solving and solution finding, not criticizing.
• Express confidence in a subordinate ability to improve.• Provide performance feedback both formally and informally.
Effective Feedback Tips
• Praise instances of high performance and areas of a job in which a worker excels.
• Avoid personal criticisms and treat subordinates with respect.
• Agree to a timetable for performance improvements.
• "Benefits" include all of the following except:A. Retirement PlanB. VacationC. Health InsuranceD. Salary
• Which of the following is an example of an "employee retention" function?
A. Job Analysis
B. Establishing position descriptions
C. Managing compensation and benefits
D. Advertising for employees
• A 360-degree performance appraisal is helpful because it:
A. Includes the perceptions of others in addition to an employee's manager
B. Occurs at several points during the yearly assessment period
C. Uses evaluation criteria that are different from those in the traditional performance appraisal
D. All of the above
• Staff shortages can lead to:
A. Dissatisfied staff
B. Staff turnover
C. Longer work hours for staff
D. All of the above
HRM Today
If an organization does not have to rely on occupying a physical space, such as a corporate headquarters, is communication (through whatever medium) the key factor in determining the existence of an organization? To what extent are people even aware of fellow employees in large and diverse global organizations? This point is particularly relevant to technology-based companies.
