Lecture 8 Topic: Human Resource Management

Introduction
 It is a function in organizations designed to maximize employee performance in service of an employer's strategic
objectives 2)Management of people, sta training and development with a strategic approach suggest that
human resource management is particularly appropriate for software work
A model of human resource management
 A corresponding commitment to the organization is expectedfrom employees.They are therefore autonomous in
thesenseof, to some degree, managing themselves. 2)Human resource management is the responsibility of all
managers 3)Maximum utilization of human resources available to the enterprise.
1-Long-term, strategic and proactive in style
 The problems associated with personnel in an information technology environment require a disciplined
approach to establishing numbers of sta ; the utilization of personnel; the development and education of
employees, together with the construction of comprehensive human resource management policies that are not
only responsive to immediate needs but also are building blocks for the medium- and long-term corporate
requirements
2-Commitment to the organization
 The real challenge is to shift employee attitudes from mere compliance with rules at work to commitment and
self motivation 2)This signifies a commitment to sta development as part of the “learning organization” and
firm-specific skills that are less transferable between firms. Skills include attendance, flexibility, responsibility,
discipline, identification with the company and, crucially, work-rate.
3-Self-management
 Team working is a vital element 2)Direct and regular face-to-face contact between managers and workers is
emphasized. This builds trust and helps maintain motivation 3)The trick is to reconcile motivating individuals with
team- building because it is teams, not individuals, who complete projects. Performance appraisal is central in
HRM strategies
4-Unitary perspective
 The entire enterprise is regarded as analogous to a team with one focus of loyalty and one focus of authority 2)A
crucial part of keeping e ective workers content is a system where they can be promoted without having to
become managers 3)At Microsoft a talented software developer can stay just that and yet rise to the top tier of
elite “architects”. These architects are not company directors despite their seniority
5-Maximum utilization of human resources
 It’s a di icult task specially in information technology environment. 2)It is the possibility of computer surveillance
of work rate that allows decision makers to look more critically now than ever before at work output in o ices
3)Management gets the impression that the project is going well and has no idea what’s actually happening at the
grass roots level. By the time they find out, it’s too late
Training and human resource management
 Despite universities establishing more IT and computing courses and applications rising strongly, the industry continues to
generate more vacancies than capable recruits 2)Computing companies find that IT graduates often lack transferable or
“people-handling” skills, such as communications and a broader knowledge of how businesses work 3)Dr Neil Barrett, senior
fellow at Bull, reckoned that “from an industry point of view, we are often better placed to take people with good generalist
degrees and turn them into engineers” 4)Computer scientists are people who understand the finer details of software
programming but cannot program. We have to start again and teach them the methods and tricks we work with.
Health and Safety at Work
 Health and safety at work usually only hits the headlines when there is a major disaster 2)In many high risk areas,
the safety systems themselves are often computer controlled 3)Around 200 employees each year still die as a
result of accidents at work
Health and Safety Act 1974:Improvements over old law
 1.Premises, i.e. factory, o ice etc.
 1.Employment is the only necessary criterion.
 2. Specific requirements
 2. General (and far-reaching) requirements
 3. No requirements on manufacturers or suppliers
 3. Creates comprehensive new duties for manufacturers and suppliers of articles and substances for use at
work
 4.Regulations for specific industries and processes: rigorous but di icult to keep up to date in the face of rapidly
changing technology.
 4. Specific regulations but couched in general terms and supplemented by approved codes of practice that
are more easily updated.