Human Resources

Management (HRM)
Course contents:

 Introduction to human resource management

 Strategic human resource management
 Analysis and design of the workplace – job analysis, job description, job
specification
 Human resources recruitment and selection
 Career management
 Performance evaluation/assessment
 Reward Management
 Conflict management
Grading system:

 Final assessment – 60% (multiple choice/open questions, essay, case study)

 Presentation of team project – 20%
 Individual assignment (on career management) – 10%
 Attendance and active participation to seminar activities (debates, role-
playing) – 10%
Team Project Requirements:

1. Select and present (briefly) an existing company and the methods you
used for research;
2. Describe the characteristics of a HR activity (such as reward management,
recruitment and selection, training and HR development, etc.) in your
chosen company;
3. Suggest at least two possibilities for improvement of the HR activity you
analysed;
4. Estimate the costs and potential impact of the improvements you
suggested.
Bibliography:

 Dessler, Gary (2015), Human Resources Management, 13th ed., Pearson.

 Dias, Laura Portolese (2012), Beginning Management of Human Resources,
McGraw Hill.
 Aswathappa, K. (2017) Human Resource Management – Text & Cases 8th
ed. McGraw-Hill Education, India.
Introduction to HRM
• What is HRM
• The Scope and Objectives of HRM
• The Functions and Components of HRM
• The Role of HRM
• Organization Of HR Department
What is HRM

 Human beings are social beings and hardly ever live and work in isolation
 The whole context of HRM revolves around managing relations at work
place
 HRM is a multidisciplinary organizational function that draws theories and
ideas from various fields such as management, psychology, sociology and
economics
 There is no best way to manage people and no manager has formulated
how people can be managed effectively, because people are complex
beings with complex needs
The key to a sustainable competitive
advantage:

Highly trained
Access to High quality
and motivated
capital and products and
human
technology services
resources
What is HRM (cont.)

 having competent staff on the payroll does not guarantee that a firm’s
human resources will be a source of competitive advantage, but it
certainly is a building block
 in order to remain competitive, to grow, and diversify an organization must
ensure that its employees are qualified, placed in appropriate positions,
properly trained, managed effectively, and committed to the firm’s
success
 The goal of HRM is to maximize employees’ contributions in order to
achieve optimal productivity and effectiveness, while simultaneously
attaining individual objectives (such as having a challenging job and
obtaining recognition), and societal objectives (such as legal compliance
and demonstrating social responsibility)
Definitions of HRM:
HRM is the personnel function which is concerned with procurement,
development, compensation, integration and maintenance of the
personnel of an organization for the purpose of contributing towards the
accomplishments of the organization’s objectives. Therefore, personnel
management is the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of the
performance of those operative functions (Edward B. Philippo)

The policies and practices involved in carrying out the “people” or human
resource aspects of a management position, including recruiting, screening,
training, rewarding, and appraising comprises of HRM (Dessler, 2008)

Human Resource Management (HRM) can be defined as the art and

science of procuring, developing and maintaining competent workforce to
achieve the goals of an organization in an effective and efficient manner.
The Semantics

HRM • Human Resource Management

PM • Personnel Management

HRD • Human Resource Development

PM and HRM are different in scope and orientation

PM and HRD (Human Resource Development) are part of HRM

Differences Between HRM and PM
Dimensions PM HRM
1.Employment contract Carefull delineation of written Aim to go behind contract
contracts
2.Rules Importance of devising clear Can do outlook, impatience
rules with rule
3.Guide to management action Procedures Business need
4.Behaviour referent Norms, customs and practices Values and mission
5.Managerial task vis-à-vis labor Monitoring Nurturing
6.Speed of decision Slow Fast
7.Management role Transactional Transformational leadership
8.Communication Indirect Direct
9. Prized management skills Negotiation Facilitation
10.Selection Separate ,marginal task Integrated, key task
11.Labour management Collective barraging contracts Individual contracts
12.Job categories and grade Many Few
13.Job design Division of labour Team work
14.Conflict handling Reach temporary truce Manage climate and culture
Differences Between HRM and PM
Dimensions PM HRM
15.Respect for employees Labour is used as tool which is People used as assets - to be
spendable and replaceable used for the benefit of
organization
16.Shared interest Interest of organizations are Mutuality of interest
uppermost
17.Evolution Precedes HRM Latest in evolution of subjects

18.Locus of control External Internal

19.Oganization principles Mechanistic Organic
Top down Bottom-up
centralized Decentralized

20.Key relations Labour Management Customers

21.Initiatives One at a time Integrated
22.Pay Job evaluation Performance related
23.Training and Controlled accessed to courses Learning companies
development

Source: Aswathappa, 2017

 The Scope and Objectives of HRM
 The scope of HRM includes several major areas:  Primary objective of HRM - to ensure the
availability of competent and willing workforce
 Human Resource Planning to an organization
 Design of the Organization and Job
 Specific objectives include:
 Selection and Staffing
 Human capital (assisting the organization in
 Training and Development obtaining the right number and types of
employees to fulfill its strategic and operational
 Organizational Development goals)
 Compensation and Benefits  Helping to maintain performance standards and
increase productivity through effective job design
 Employee Assistance
 Providing adequate orientation, training and
 Union/Labour Relations development
 Personnel Research and Information System  Providing performance-related feedback
 Ensuring effective two-way communication
 Helping to create and maintain a safe and
healthy work environment
 To provide organization with well-trained and well-
motivated employees
 To increase the employees satisfaction and self-
actualization
Objectives of HRM
Societal
objectives
Organizational
objectives
Functional
objectives
Personnel
objectives
Objectives of HRM
HRM Objectives Supporting Functions
Societal Objectives Legal compliance
Benefits
Union-Management relationship
Organizational Objectives Human Resource Planning
Employee Relations
Training and Development
Performance Appraisal
Placement
Functional Objectives Performance Appraisal
Placement
Personal Objectives Compensation
Training and Development
Performance Appraisal
Placement

Source: Aswathappa, 2017

Objectives of HRM

1. Societal objectives

 Societal objectives of HRM make sure that the organization is

socially and ethically responsible

 Minimizing negative impact of societal demands on

organizations

 For example: there are laws forcing organizations to be ethical

in recruitment, to minimize the discrimination against hiring
based on ethnicity, race, and religion etc.
Objectives of HRM

2. Organizational objectives

• To determine the role of HRM in organizational effectiveness

• Its purpose is to assist/serve organization

• HR department also serve other departments

Objectives of HRM

3. Functional objectives

• To maintain department contribution in organizational

effectiveness

• HR department services must fit into the organizational

needs
Objectives of HRM
4. Personal objectives

• To assist employees in achieving their personal/individual goals

• Maximum contribution to organization

• Personal objectives are achieved when employees are satisfied,

motivated and retained

• Satisfied employees excellent services excellent organizational

performance
 Functions of HRM

Source: Gary Dessler, 2012

Components
of a Human
Resource
Management
System
 HRM Components
 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.
 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
 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
 HRM Components
 Pay and Benefits
 Rewarding high performing organizational members with raises,
bonuses and recognition.
 Increased pay provides additional incentive.
 Benefits, such as health insurance, reward membership in firm.

 Labour relations
 Steps that managers take to develop and maintain good working
relationships with the labour unions that may represent their
employees’ interests
Role of HRM

Administrative Operational Actions Strategic HR

• Personnel practices • Managing employee • Organizational/business

• Legal compliance relationship issues strategies
forms and paperwork • Employee advocate • HR strategic or
planning
• Evaluation of HR
effectiveness
1. Administrative Role of HR

 Recordkeeping
 Essential legal paperwork and policy implementation
 It suffered major changes due to the intensive use of technology and
outsourcing
2. Operational and Employee
Advocate Role for HR
 HR professinals act as the voice for employee concerns, and spend
considerable time on HR “crisis management,” dealing with employee problems
that are both work-related and not work-related
 Employee advocacy helps to ensure fair and equitable treatment for
employees regardless of personal background or circumstances
 May create conflict with operating managers, but, without the HR advocate
role, employers could face even more lawsuits and regulatory complaints than
they already do
 It requires HR professionals to cooperate with various departmental and
operating managers and supervisors in order to identify and implement needed
programs and policies in the organization
 It makes sure that compliance with equal employment opportunity and other
laws is ensured, employment applications are processed, current openings are
filled through interviews, supervisors are trained, safety problems are resolved,
and wage and benefit questions are answered
3. Strategic Role for HR

 The strategic HR role means that HR professionals are proactive in addressing

business realities and focusing on future business needs, such as strategic
planning, compensation strategies, the performance of HR, and measuring its
results
 in some organizations, HR often does not play a key role in formulating the
strategies for the organization as a whole; instead it merely carries them out
through HR activities
 HR should be responsible for knowing what the true cost of human capital is for
an employer
 Turnover can be controlled though HR activities, and it may contribute to saving
the company money with good retention and talent management strategies
 Part of HR’s contribution is to have financial expertise and to produce financial
results, not just to boost employee morale or administrative efficiencies
Examples of areas where strategic
contributions can be made by HR
 Evaluating mergers and acquisitions for organizational “compatibility,”
structural changes, and staffing needs
 Conducting workforce planning to anticipate the retirement of employees
at all levels and identify workforce expansion in organizational strategic
plans
 Leading site selection efforts for new facilities or transferring operations to
international outsourcing locations based on workforce needs
 Instituting HR management systems to reduce administrative time,
equipment, and staff by using HR technology
 Working with executives to develop a revised sales compensation and
incentives plan
Organization Of HR Department
Two issues:
 HR department placement in overall setup
 Composition of HR department
Structure of HR:
 Structure of organization depend on whether organization is small or
large
 In small organization there is no need to have separate departments
to deal with activities relating to people
 Many small organizations even do not have personnel managers
 Outsourcing to firms specializing in managing accounts, pensions,
funds and health & care
Outsourcing HR Activities
Outsourcing or Subcontracting: Transfer activities to specialist organizations
Reasons
• Restructuring
• Downsizing
• Growth in business
• Decline in business
Benefits
• Cost efficiency
• Access to expertise
Line and Staff Aspects of HRM

 Line manager
 A manager who is authorized to direct the work of subordinates and is
responsible for accomplishing the organization’s tasks.
 Staff manager
 A manager who assists and advises line managers.
Line Managers’ HRM Responsibilities

1. Placing the right person on 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 creative cooperation and developing smooth working relationships
6. Interpreting the firm’s policies and procedures
7. Controlling labour costs
8. Developing the abilities of each person
9. Creating and maintaining department morale
10. Protecting employees’ health and physical condition
Human Resource Managers’ Duties
Line Function Coordinative
Line Authority Function
Implied Authority Functional Authority

Functions of
HR Managers

Staff Functions
Staff Authority
Innovator
Employee Advocacy
 Human Resource Specialties

Recruiters

Labor Relations EEO

Specialists Coordinators
Human
Resource
Specialties
Training
Job Analysts
Specialists

Compensation
Managers
 HR Organization Chart
for a Large Organization

Source: www.hr.wayne.edu/orgcharts.php. Accessed May 6, 2007.

HR Organizational Chart (Small Company)
Personnel Aspects of a Manager’s Job

 Conducting job analyses

 Planning labor needs and recruiting job candidates
 Selecting job candidates
 Orienting and training new employees
 Managing wages and salaries
 Providing incentives and benefits
 Appraising performance
 Communicating
 Training and developing managers
 Building employee commitment
Personnel Mistakes

 Hire the wrong person for the job

 Have your people not doing their best
 Waste time with useless interviews
 Have your company in court because of discriminatory actions
 Have some employees think their salaries are unfair and inequitable
relative to others in the organization
 Allow a lack of training to undermine your department’s
effectiveness
 Commit any unfair labour practices