Human Resources

Module 8 LIS 580: Spring 2006 Instructor- Michael Crandall

Roadmap
The Human Resources environment The Human Resources management process Recruiting Interviewing Training Disciplining Legal and ethical concerns
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Human Resources (HR) Management

Human Resources (HR) Management
The management function devoted to acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating employees.

Strategic Human Resource Management

The linking of the human resource function with the companys strategies to accomplish that strategy.
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WorkUSA 2002 & Malden Mills

WorkUSA 2002 study showed:
Trust levels dropping within organizations HR functions emphasizing effectiveness of employees key to increased trust. Less than half of employees say businesses manage changes well. Communication is miserable, especially related to pay. Employees dont get linkage between corporate strategy and their jobs. Linkage of performance rewards to business goals is not effective.

How is Malden Mills different?

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The Human Resources Management Environment

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The Basic HR Process

FIGURE 91
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Personnel Planning
The process by which management ensures it has the right number and kinds of people in the right places at the right time, who are capable of helping the organization achieve its goals Steps in the planning process:
1. Assessing current human resources 2. Assessing future human resources needs and developing a program to meet those needs
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Steps in the Recruitment and Selection (staffing) Process

FIGURE 92
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Management Personnel Replacement Chart

FIGURE 95
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Writing Job Descriptions And Recruiting Employees

Staffing
Filling a firms open positions; also, the personnel process that includes six steps:

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job analysis personnel planning recruiting interviewing testing and selection training and development
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Job Analysis
Job Analysis
The procedure used to determine the duties of particular jobs and the kinds of people (in terms of skills and experience) who should be hired for them.

Job Specification
The human qualifications in terms of traits, skills, and experiences required to accomplish a job.

Job Description
A document that identifies a particular job, provides a brief job summary, and lists specific responsibilities and duties of the job.
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Checklist 9.1 Job Analysis Questions

What is the job being performed?

What are the major duties of your position? What exactly do you do? What are the education, experience, skill, and [where applicable] certification and licensing requirements? In what activities do you participate now? What are the jobs responsibilities and duties? What are the basic accountabilities or performance standards that typify your work?
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Checklist 9.1 (contd) Job Analysis Questions

What are your responsibilities? What are the environmental and working conditions involved? What are the jobs physical demands? Its emotional and mental demands? What are the health and safety conditions? Does the job expose you to any hazards or unusual working conditions?
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Employee Recruiting
Recruiting
Attracting a pool of viable job applicants.

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Sources of Recruits
Current employees Advertising The Internet Employment agencies
Public Private

College recruiting Recruiting for a diverse workforce

Contingent workers and temporary help agencies Executive recruiters Employee referrals Walk-ins
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Testing for Employee Selection

Uses of Tests
Reliability (repeatability of test results) Validity (measures what it purports to measure)

Types of Tests
Intelligence Mechanical comprehension Personality and interests Ability/achievement (current capabilities/knowledge) Aptitude (performance potential) Management assessment center
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Conducting Effective Interviews

Plan the interview Structure the interview Establish rapport Ask effective questions Delay your decision Close the interview

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Guidelines for Interviewees

Prepare Make a good first impression Uncover the interviewers needs Relate your answers to the interviewers needs Think before answering Watch your nonverbal behavior
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Potential Biases in Interviews

Prior knowledge about the applicant will bias the interviewers evaluation The interviewer tends to hold a stereotype of what represents a good applicant The interviewer tends to favor applicants who share his or her own attitudes The order in which applicants are interviewed will influence evaluations The order in which information is elicited during the interview will influence evaluations
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Potential Biases in Interviews (contd)

Negative information is given unduly high weight The interviewer may make a decision concerning the applicants suitability within the first four or five minutes of the interview The interviewer may forget much of the interviews content within minutes after its conclusion The interview is most valid in determining an applicants intelligence, level of motivation, and interpersonal skills Structured and well-organized interviews are more reliable than unstructured and unorganized ones
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Orienting Employees
Orientation
The introduction of a new employee to the job and the organization

Objectives of orientation
To reduce the initial anxiety all new employees feel as they begin a new job To familiarize new employees with the job, the work unit, and the organization as a whole To facilitate the outsiderinsider transition
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Training Employees
Training Program
The process of providing new employees with information they need to do their jobs satisfactorily.

Training Program Steps

Needs analysis Instructional design Validation Implementation Evaluation and follow-up
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Employee Training
What and Why?
Changing skills, knowledge, attitudes, or behavior. Changing what employees know, how they work; or their attitudes toward their jobs, co-workers, managers, and the organization

On-the-Job Training Methods

Job rotation Understudy assignments

Off-the-Job Training Methods

Classroom lectures Films and videos Simulation exercises Vestibule training
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Determining if Training Is Needed

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Performance Management and Measurement

Performance management system
A process of establishing performance standards and evaluating performance in order to arrive at objective human resource decisions and to provide documentation to support personnel actions

Adjective rating scales

Rating an individual on each job performance factor on an incremental scale

360-degree appraisal
An appraisal device that seeks feedback from a variety of sources for the person being rated
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Performance Management and Measurement (cont.)

Group-order ranking
Requires the evaluator to place employees into a particular classification such as top fifth or second fifth

Individual ranking approach

Requires the evaluator merely to list the employees in order from highest to lowest

Paired comparison approach

Each employee is compared with every other employee in the comparison group and rated as either the superior or weaker member of the pair Each employee is assigned a summary ranking based on the number of superior scores achieved

MBO
Employees are evaluated by how well they accomplish a specific set of objectives determined to be critical in the successful completion of their jobs
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Performance Appraisal Form

Source: Gary Dessler, Human Resource Management, 9th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: PrenticeHall, 2000), p.90.

FIGURE 913
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Checklist 9.5
How to Conduct the Appraisal Interview Prepare for the interview. Be direct and specific.

Dont get personal.

Encourage the person to talk. Dont tiptoe around.

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When Performance Falls Short

Performance impediments
Mismatched skills Inadequate training Employees personal problems

Discipline
Actions taken by a manager to enforce an organizations standards and regulations

Employee counseling
A process designed to help employees overcome performance-related problems
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Jack Stack and Scott Berkun

What does Stack point out about the problems with most performance reviews? How does he use his reviews to help his staff improve performance? Stack is a CEO, reviewing high-level directors. How do you think his approach would work at lower levels of the organization? He doesnt file any paperwork or other documentation. Do you see any issues with this in the long term? What does Berkun see as the main job of a manager? How does Berkuns advice compare with Stacks approach?
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Compensation And Benefits

Compensation administration
Determining a cost-effective pay structure that will attract and retain competent employees, provide an incentive for them to work hard, and ensure that pay levels will be perceived as fair

Factors influencing pay levels

Employees job Kind of business Environment surrounding the job Geographic location Employee performance levels and seniority
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Types of Employee Benefits

Social Security Workers and unemployment compensations Paid time off from work Life and disability insurance Retirement programs Health insurance Non-financial rewards designed to enrich employees lives
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Discipline and Grievances

FRACT Model
A multi-step procedure for assessing the need for discipline:
Get the Facts Find the Reason Audit the records Pinpoint Consequences Identify the Type of infraction.

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Discipline and Grievances (contd)

Discipline without Punishment
A multistage disciplinary technique that uses oral reminders of the violated rule; then written reminders; followed by a paid one-day leave; and finally, if the behavior is not corrected, dismissal.

Grievance
A complaint that an employee lodges against an employer, usually one regarding wages, hours, or some condition of employment, such as unfair supervisory behavior.
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Checklist 9.6
Guidelines for Disciplining an Employee
Make sure the evidence supports the charge. Protect the employees due process rights. Warn the employee of the disciplinary consequences. The rule allegedly violated should be reasonably related to the efficient and safe operation of the work environment. Fairly and adequately investigate the matter. Be sure there is substantial evidence of misconduct.
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Checklist 9.6 (contd)

Guidelines for Disciplining an Employee
Apply rules, orders, or penalties evenhandedly. Make sure the penalty is reasonably related to the misconduct and to the employees past work history. Maintain the employees right to counsel. Dont rob your subordinate of his or her dignity. Remember that the burden of proof is on you. Get the facts. Dont base your decision on hearsay or general impression. Dont act while angry.
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Summary of Important Equal Employment Opportunity Legislation

Title VII of 1964 Civil Rights Act, as amended Executive orders Federal agency guidelines Supreme court decisions:
Griggs v. Duke Power Co., Albemarle v. Moody

Equal Pay Act of 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 State and local laws Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Source: Gary Dessler, Human Resource Management, 7th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2000), p.52.

Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 Wards Cove v. Antonio; Patterson v. McLean Credit Union Morton v. Wilks Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Civil Rights Act of 1991

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Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action
A legislated requirement that employers make an extra effort to hire and promote those in a protected (women or minority) group.

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Improving Workforce Diversity

Widen the recruiting net to broaden the pool of applicants Ensure the selection process is nondiscriminatory Assist new employees in assimilating into the firms culture Conduct specialized orientations and workshops for new employees
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Diversity as Policy
What do these statistics point out about the current state of diversity in our organizations? Have you seen evidence of this in your own work? Why is marketing seen as so important in encouraging diversity? Do you agree?
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LaborManagement Relations
NorrisLaGuardia Act
Guarantees each employee the right to bargain with employers for union benefits.

Wagner Act
Outlaws unfair labor practices such as employers interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees who are exercising their legally sanctioned rights of organizing themselves into a union.

The TaftHartley Act

Prohibits unfair labor practices by unions against employers (like refusing to bargain with the employer).

The Landrum-Griffin Act

Protects union members from unfair practices perpetrated against them by their unions.
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Layoffs and Downsizing

Layoff-survivor sickness
The set of attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of employees who remain after involuntary staff reductions

Dealing with the Survivor Syndrome

Provide opportunities for employees to talk to counselors about their guilt, anger, and anxiety Provide group discussions for the survivors to vent their feelings Implement employee participation programs such as empowerment and self-managed work teams
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Next Time
Guest Lecturer: Cara Wilson from Teams and Leaders
Well be looking at some practical cases of organizational dynamics, and some techniques consultants use to examine and change them Read the assigned article for some ideas for questions, and bring your own from the past weeks readings and discussions
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