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publishing as Prentice Hall

CHAPTER 13
Human Resource Management

CHAPTER SUMMARY
To provide appropriate human resources to fill either managerial or nonmanagerial openings,
managers follow four sequential steps: (1) recruitment, (2) selection, (3) training, and (4)
performance appraisal.
Recruitment activities begin with a thorough understanding of the position to be filled. This is
accomplished through the development of job analyses, job descriptions, and job specifications.
Because the labor supply is in constant flux, recruiters must be able to pinpoint sources of human
resources. Sources from within the organization are found by using: (1) human resource
inventories, (2) management inventory cards, (3) position replacement forms, and (4)
management manpower replacement cards. Sources outside the organization include: (1)
competitors, (2) employment agencies, (3) readers of certain publications, and (4) educational
institutions. Laws regulate recruiting practices.
The selection process is typically represented as a series of stages through which prospective
employees must pass to be hired. Each stage reduces the number of prospective employees until
one is hired. Tests are used to measure: (1) potential, (2) skill level, (3) vocational interests, and
(4) personality. Assessment centers are another employee selection tool.
Training is essentially a four-stage process involving: (1) determining training needs, (2) designing
the training program, (3) administering the training program, and (4) evaluating the training
program. Training needs can be determined through evaluation of the production process,
requests for employee feedback, and looking into the future. Training programs can consist of
lectures, programmed learning, on-the-job training, and classroom training. Successful training
programs show a reasonable return.
The main purpose of performance appraisals is to furnish feedback to organization members about
how they can become more productive. Forms of performance appraisals include (1) a rating
scale, (2) employee comparisons, (3) the free-form essay, and (4) the critical-form essay.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. An overall understanding of how appropriate human resources can be provided for the
organization
2. An appreciation for the relationship among recruitment efforts, an open position, sources of
human resources, and the law
3. Insights on the use of tests and assessment centers in employee selection
4. An understanding of how the training process operates
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5. A concept of what performance appraisals are and how they can best be conducted
Chapters Target Skill
Human Resource Management Skill: The ability to take actions that increase the contributions of
individuals within the organization.
CHALLENGE CASE
CISCO RECRUITS THE BEST MINDS IN CHINA
The Challenge Case discusses tactics that management at Cisco Systems has used to hire and
retain its brightest employees in China. The task of hiring and retaining not just people, but the
right people is part of managing human resources in any organization. This chapter outlines the
process of managing human resources within an organization and emphasizes how hiring and
retaining the right people is part of this process for managers at a company such as Cisco. This
chapter discusses this process by first defining appropriate human resources and then examining
the steps to be followed in providing them.
See all related teaching notes for Challenge Case in the Management Skill Activities

EXPLORING YOUR MANAGEMENT SKILL: PART 1

CHAPTER OUTLINE
I.

CHALLENGE CASE: CISCO RECRUITS THE BEST MINDS IN CHINA

II.

DEFINING APPROPRIATE HUMAN RESOURCES

A. Appropriate human resources are the individuals in the organization who make a
valuable contribution to management system goal attainment.
B. Productivity is determined by how human resources interact and combine to use all
other management system resources.

III.

STEPS IN PROVIDING HUMAN RESOURCES

A. Recruitment
1. Recruitment is the initial attraction and screening of the total supply of
prospective human resources available to fill a position.
2. Knowing the Job (See Figure 13.2)
a. A job analysis includes the following:
1. A job description that lists the specific activities that must be performed to
accomplish some task or job.
2. A job specification lists characteristics of the individual who should be
hired for the job.
3. Knowing Sources of Human Resources
a. Sources Inside the Organization
1. A human resource inventory is an accumulation of information concerning
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B.

the characteristics of organization members.

2. It should indicate which individuals may be appropriate for filling a
position.
3. Wilkstrom suggests three records:
a. A management inventory card containing both an organizational history
of an employee and an explanation of how the employee might be used
in the future.
b. A position replacement form focusing on maintaining position-centered
information, and about employees who could fill a position should it
open.
c. A management manpower replacement card providing a composite
view of individuals whom management considers significant to human
resource planning. (See Figure 13.5)
b. Sources Outside the Organization
1. Competitors
2. Employment agencies
3. Readers of certain publications
4. Educational institutions
4. Knowing the Law
a. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal
agency established to enforce the laws that regulate recruiting and other
managerial practices.
b. Affirmative Action
1. The basic purpose of affirmative action programs is to eliminate
barriers against and increase opportunities for underutilized or
disadvantaged people.
2. An organization can judge how much progress it is making towards
eliminating those barriers by:
a. Determining the number of minority and disadvantaged individuals
in its employ,
b. Determining how many minorities and disadvantaged individuals
it should employ according to EEOC guidelines
c. Comparing the numbers obtained
Selection
1. Selection is choosing an individual to hire from all those who have been
recruited.
a. Testing
b. Testing is examining human resources for qualities relevant to performing
available jobs. Types of testing include:
1. Aptitude tests
2. Achievement tests
3. Vocational interest tests
4. Personality tests
c. Testing Guidelines
1. Several guidelines should be observed when tests are used as part of the
selection process:
2. Tests are valid and reliable; valid tests measure what they are designed to

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C.

D.

measure and are reliable if they measure similarly time after time.
3. Tests are not used as sole source for hiring someone.
4. Tests are nondiscriminatory in nature.
2. Assessment Centers
a. A program, not a place, in which participants engage in a number of
exercises constructed to simulate important activities at the levels to which
participants aspire.
Training
1. Training is the process of developing qualities in human resources that
ultimately enable people to be more productive in contributing to organizational
goal attainment.
2. A four-step process:
a. Determining training needs
b. Designing the training program
c. Administering the training program
d. Evaluating the training program
3. Determining Training Needs
a. Training needs are the information or skill areas an individual or group
requires to further develop their individual and group productivity.
b. Several methods may be used:
1. Evaluating the production process within the organization
2. Obtaining direct feedback from employees
3. Looking into the future
4. Designing the Training Program
a. The training programs seek to meet identified training needs by
assembling facts and activities that will meet the established
training needs.
5. Administering the Training Program
a. Techniques for Transmitting Information
1. Lectures
2. Programmed learning
b. Techniques for Developing Skills
1. On-the-job training is a blend of job-related knowledge and
experience with coaching, position rotation, and special project
committees.
6. Evaluating the Training Program
a. Evaluation seeks to determine if there is a reasonable return on the
training cost.
Performance Appraisal
1. Performance appraisal is the process of reviewing past productive activity to
evaluate the contribution individuals have made toward attaining management
system objectives. (See Table 13.2)
2. Why Use Performance Appraisals?
a. They provide systematic judgments.
b. They are a means of measuring employee progress and of suggesting any
needed changes.
c. They serve as a basis for coaching and counseling
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employees.
CLASS DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHT: Modern Research and Human Resources Skill
The Timing of Job Offers
This is an interesting article to discuss in class, because we all have received (or will receive) job
offers. This is a great opportunity to ask students for their experiences with job offers. Ask them
if they remember the timing of the offers. Some will likely speak about the agony of waiting for
an offer to finally arrive.
According to the results of this study, timing made a big difference. Those who received their
offers quickly were more likely to accept their offers. Interestingly, there were no differences
between the two groups. As it turns out, everyone (both students and experienced individuals)
wants a quick offer, and such offers speak to the excitement that organizations have for their
candidates.
Something else to discuss: there were no effects of timing on the employees subsequent
performance or turnover. In other words, taking a long time to extend an offer does not
necessarily help the firms find better employees.

3. Handling Performance Appraisals

a. Guidelines assisting performance appraisal:
1. Stress both performance within the position the individual holds and the
success with which the individual is attaining objectives.
2. Emphasize the individual on the job and not the evaluators impression of
observed work habits.
3. Make performance appraisal acceptable to both the evaluator and the
subject.
4. Use the performance appraisal as a basis for improving an individuals
productivity within the organization by making them better equipped to
produce.
4. Potential Weaknesses of Performance Appraisals
a. Individuals involved could view them as a reward/punishment situation.
b. Emphasis could be put on completing paperwork rather than critiquing
individual performance.
c. Individuals being evaluated could view the process as being unfair or
biased.
d. Some type of negative reaction from a subordinate could occur when the
evaluator offers any unfavorable comments.
e. Focus employees on short-term rewards rather than long-term issues