Human Resource Management

Class 1 & 2
Randhir Kumar
randhirkumar@iimcal.ac.in
M-207, NAB
Mob: 9769 546 556
 The Rules and course outline

Themes to be covered using cases

General Guidelines
- R&S
- Time
- Training
- Teaching method
- Compensation
- Evaluation (Exam pattern)
- Performance Mgmt.
- CP, readings
- Employment Relations
- Attendance
- SHRM

- Silo-based approach vs. Integrated approach

 HRM
components

3 subfields

M-HRM SHRM IHRM

Micro-HRM: R&S, Training, Compensation, Perf. Mgmt., Employment relations

SHRM: Integration of various components of M-HRM
IHRM: HRM in companies operating across national boundaries

Source: Peter Boxall, John Purcell and Patrick Wright , The Oxford Handbook of Human
Resource Management, Oxford University Press
• Micro HRM – areas of recruitment, selection, induction, training
and development, performance management, and remuneration.
Also included is the IR part…Problem is silo based approach,
however each of these sub-functions has enormous depth (for each
topic (volumes and volumes and reams of literature have been
written on these topics)
• SHRM – deals with how the pieces mentioned in micro HRM fits
together and connect with broader context and other
organisational activities, .It argues that the General managers
should be concerned with HRM potentials for competitive
advantage
• International HRM: concerns with companies operating across
national boundaries, it takes a micro approach in the sense that it
connects how the HR sub-functions such as selection, remuneration
etc. might be adapted to international assignments.
 Discussion question from caselet – Loft Securities

Q 1. Why there is less respect for HR department?

- Loft Securities case (CEO & Line manager apathy)
- Poor connect with how HR is going to assist the line managers
- FMCG (Sales HR example)
- Administrative backwaters
 Development of HRM as a management discipline

As a management discipline, HRM draws insights, models, and theories from

cognate disciplines and applies them to real world settings.

It is characteristic of such disciplines that they beg, steal, and borrow from more
basic disciplines to build up a credible body of theory, and make no apology for it.

Q 2. What are the cognate disciplines from which HRM beg, borrow and steal??

Sociology, Psychology, Labour Law, Economics, Organisation theory,

- Lab. Welfare -- PM/IR – HRM -- OB/OD -- Personnel Eco -- SHRM evolution

Source: Peter Boxall, John Purcell and Patrick Wright , The Oxford Handbook of Human
Resource Management, Oxford University Press
 Low Status of HRM in academia and
its revival
• Prior to Second World War, only handful of US universities had programmes in IR
and after war many institutes were established.
• Courses name were labour economics, CB, PM (and human relations) and labour
law

• Till 1950s Economics was regarded as foundation discipline of business education

and business has always been recognised as a branch of economics. Personnel
management was regarded as applied labour economics

• 1960s- HRM part of IR, however gradually drifted into more narrowly focussed on
unions and labour management relations. Divorce of IR and HRM followed by
divorce between labour economists and scholars from behavioural sciences

• Dominance of OB: Classics in Personnel Management (Patten, 1979) illustrate

intellectual dominance of OB, absence of economists and depressingly low-level of
admin nature of PM. 1950s Arensberg, Argyris, McGregor and Whyte researchers
affiliated with Human relations movement, and human relations was absorbed in
the new field of OB 1960’s) and its offshoot OD
 HRM evolution
• HRM in 1960s was left in marginalised position
• On one hand IR and economist scholars drifted away, other hand
behavioural scientist and management scholars gave time and attention to
new field of OB.
• Both groups looked PM as largely a-theoretic subject dealing with
collection of largely disconnected admin procedures and employment
tools.
• Till 1980’s PM and HRM were used interchangeably, later HRM line of
thought was new model and philosophy of people management that was
fundamentally different from the traditional approach of PM and IR.
• HBS Michael Beer and colleagues wrote ‘Managing Human Assets’ and
integrated IR and OD and described a new HRM paradigm (1984).
• Identified 14 characteristic that distinguish the traditional employment
management model (identified as PM and IR) and label them HRM (PM
as piecemeal, control, command, reactive, short term, HRM as proactive,
integrative, unity of interest, long term perspective etc.)

Source: Peter Boxall, John Purcell and Patrick Wright , The Oxford Handbook of Human
Resource Management, Oxford University Press
 HRM evolution continued
• 1st intellectual feat: Integrated insights from OB/OD into traditional PM/IR
in 1960s, application of the social sciences to the analysis of org.
problems. ..it was argued persuasively that more of behavioural sciences
should be taught in B school, most cited practitioner of OB/OD were
Herzberg, McGregor, Portal, Maslow and Argyris.
• OB became so strong that many universities HRM gravitated toward a
course on Applied OB.
• Introduction of SHRM: Planned HR deployments and activities intended to
enable an org. to achieve its goals. (It suggest that HRM and PM are
largely equivalent) (If SHRM is strategic the HRM is more tactical just like
PM)
• others define it more narrowly…by limiting the room for strategic choices
to some permutation of the HPWS and more prescriptive by incorporating
employee involvement and other HPWS practices.
• It rejuvenated the HRM and empirical support found positive link between
advanced HRM practices and firm performance.
HR as function or HR as a department
• Repositioning HRM function: Transformation or
demise? (Schular, 1990)..Should we do away with
HR? ..its is ineffective, incompetent and
costly…although HRM is strategic business
partner, many companies the function remain of
low level admin version often criticised in past.
• One can reach to mistaken conclusion that HRM
is equal to staff and activities of HR department
(however these two are very distinct, if
overlapping as recognised by authors from
earliest days)…
 Concept 1: Signaling (case S.G Cowen)

Why firms should hire from IIMC and not from IIM BG?

Example of how IIMC is acting as a institutional screening for good quality candidates
through their stringents selection parameters.
Firms in a way minimise the risks of bad hires
Assumption better students go to better B-Schools (Self-Select)
Signaling to potential customers (Look we hire from only top B-Schools, Only IIT-IIMs)
Downside: Might be difficult to retain for longer duration, Dumping ground in case
company is last one to visit for campus placement (Dilemma of SG Cowen)

What is a strong signal (Features)?

Expensive/difficult to obtain (not everyone has it): candidates with strong underlying
ability might invest in expensive signals.
Percpetion is as important as reality: For third party observer (students, firms)
Signal Acquisition requires acquisition of knowledge: some may come for signal but leave
with education
Potential downside: Once in top colleges with strong signal, one might become
complacent
 S.G Cowen
Natalya Martin Ken Andy
Positive/Red Flag Positive/Red Flag Positive/Red flag Positive/Red flag

Is SG Cowen justified in going to 2nd tier colleges?

How candidates were selected for Super Saturday?
What are the hiring criteria used by the company?
Which two candidates you would select if you were the recruiter?
Is the data on each candidate really comparable?
Should company really be bothered about marital status and number of kids
for one of the candidate?

Interviewing and hiring criteria

Neither reliable nor valid (bias/initial impression/preconception/previous
candidate conception)
Recommendation: More structured Interview
Key feature (difference) of recruitment
process and selection process
Recruitment and selection are the two phases of the
employment process.

Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and

stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization (by attracting more of
suitable/qualified candidates to apply in the organization )

Selection involves the series of steps by which the candidates are

screened for choosing the most suitable persons for vacant posts.
The basic purpose of recruitments is to create a talent pool of candidates to enable
the selection of best candidates for the organization,

The end result of successful selection process results in a contract of service

between the employer and the selected employee.
 Tool-Box 1: How to Generate Job Description

Job description (detailed work task, summary of workflow)

job specification (inferred employees trait for successful performance, knowledge,
skills and abilities KSA)

O*NET: Free platform sponsored by US department of Labour/ Employment and

Training Administration

https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9199.03

Currently has analysis of 974 occupations

Source: Micheal J. Roberts, Note on Hiring and Selection Process, Harvard Business School
 Tool-Box 2: Competency Framework

Competencies: as those trainable core characteristics, in terms of behaviors, that

lead employees to success. Casually relates to superior performance in a job or
siutation (motives, attitudes, knowledge, behaviour or skill etc.
CM (Competence Modeling) enables identification of KSAs that are broad and
not necessarily linked to specific jobs or tasks

A signal from the organisation to the individual of the expected areas and levels of
performance
Provide individual with a map or indication of the behaviours that will be valued,
recognised and in some organisations rewarded

Many occupational psychology consultancies sell such framework having list of

competencies minus the behavioral indicators (which you pay and get)

A broad mental roadmap, does not provide clear-cut black and white answers, do not
reflct skills and abilities that org. might need in future, changes with cultural context of
countries
A practical guide to assessment centres and selection methods: Measuring competency
for recruitment and development, Ian Taylor, Kogan Page
 Reliability and Validity of selection tools

“A reliable test is one that yields consistent scores when a person takes two
alternate forms of the test or when he or she takes the same test on two or
more different occasions” (e.g. intelligence tests)

While reliability tells that the test is measuring something consistently, Validity
tells whether the test is measuring what you are supposed to measure. (e.g.
Swimming test for life guard)

Criterion validity: statistically demonstrate that scores on a selection procedure

and job performance of a sample of workers. Those who do well in this test do
well in job too
CONTENT VALIDITY: Show that the test contains a fair amount of real life job
content. Identify the job tasks that are critical to performance and test on it.

A practical guide to assessment centres and selection methods: Measuring competency

for recruitment and development, Ian Taylor, Kogan Page
• Projective test: psychologists project ambiguous
images which they interpret according to their attitude
(Make a picture story and Forer Structured Sentence
completion tests). Projective tests are hard to interpret
• Self Reported personality tests: e.g. Guilford-
Zimmerman survey (tests emotional stability vs.
moodiness etc.),
• Myers-Briggs test for personality type classification.
Low validity allegations, people can give fake response
to personality and integrity tests.
• Online adaptive personality test by SHL, the next
question will adapt according to previous answer (each
candidate gets custom made questions)
 Interviews as Selection Tool: Subconscious Biasness & Halo Effect

Subconscious Bias video: (3 minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVp9Z5k0dEE

Halo effect (in Interviewing): (3 minutes video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW-U1q5uQ3M

Alternative data sources

-Grades
-References
-Psychological tests
Realistic job preview:

Realistic job previews (RJPs): are devices used in the early stages of personnel
selection to provide potential applicants with information on both positive and
negative aspects of the job (Premack & Wanous, 1985).