book 2- an introduction to human resource management

تنسيق محمد العليان/ الدكتور هالل عفيفي ملخص 2 | Book 2

Session 1 Why do people go to work?

Learning Objectives

After studying this session, you should be able to: 1- Consider some definitions of HRM;

2- Characterise the nature of motivation, including its importance; and identify the factors that motivate

people to want to work;

3- Understand the different views of the key theories about motivation at work;

4- Highlight the changing expectations of both employees and employers within a modern business;

5- Explain the notion of psychological contract. Definitions of HRM

The terms "human resource management" (HRM) and "human resources" (HR) have largely replaced the term "personnel management" as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organizations.

Personnel Management: ….is a series of activities which: first enables working people and the organisation which uses their skills to agree

about the objectives and nature of their working relationship and, secondly ensures that the agreement is fulfilled.

HRM: Designing management systems to ensure that human talent is used effectively and efficiently to accomplish

organizational goals.

…refers to the practices and policies needed to cover the ‘human’ aspect of management.

… is the part of the management process that specializes in the management of people in work organisations.

Why people might go to work?

1- For financial reasons: Earning the money. 2- For non-financial reasons: Job satisfaction; good way of meeting people and making friends; self-esteem; work

can give people an identity and to build a career). The Nature of Motivation What Is Motivation?

- The extent to which persistent effort is directed toward a goal. - A need or desire that energizes behavior and directs it towards a goal. - The set of forces that leads people to behave in particular ways. - Anything that provides direction, intensity, and persistence to behavior. - A willingness to exert effort toward achieving a goal. - An internal drive to satisfy an unsatisfied need. - The psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction. - The conditions that energize, direct, and sustain work behavior. - The inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals. - And the will to achieve.


A simple model of motivation:

The Importance of Motivation: Why do we need motivated employees?

The answer is survival

• Job performance depends upon motivation, ability, and environment. • Supervisors get things done through employees and therefore need to know what motivates them. • Motivation influences productivity. • Productivity, profit etc. • Employee satisfaction & attitudes. • Employee reward schemes. • Recruitment & selection, succession planning. • Managing Diversity. • Ergonomics & work design.

What motivates people to work?

Motivation: The force that gives --------------------------------------- to the behavior . - Direction

-Effort (Intensity) -Persistence (Sustainability)

Types of motivation: There are two distinct forms of motivation - intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as follows: Extrinsic: Involves factors outside the individual, unrelated to the task being performed. Related to tangible rewards,

e.g. salary, security, promotion, conditions of work Intrinsic (self) motivation: An individual’s internal desire to perform a task. Related to psychological rewards, e.g. a

sense of challenge and achievement, receiving appreciation.

Theories about Motivation at work Motivation theories that specify the kinds of needs people have and the conditions under which they will be

motivated to satisfy these needs in a way that contributes to performance. Three of the most famous theories, which three different ways of thinking about motivation; that is: 1- Type of people (McGregor’s theory X and theory Y). 2- The content of motivation (Maslow’s need theory). 3- The process of motivation (Vroom’s expectancy theory).

Unfulfilled

Need

Motivation

Behaviour

Rewards

Feedback

Unfulfilled Need


1- McGregor’s (1960) Theory X and Theory Y: It comprises of two different perspectives on individual at work:

1- The kind of people they are; 2- What managers need to do to keep them working.

Two fundamentally different views of human nature spawn two fundamentally different leadership approaches: Theory X: Theory X offered by McGregor assumes that employees dislike work, are lazy, seek to avoid responsibility,

and need to be closely controlled or coerced to achieve desired goals. It is a negative view about people. - Assumed that lower-order needs dominate. Theory Y: Theory Y assumes that employees are creative, seek responsibility, and can exercise self-direction. It is a

positive view about people. - Assumed that higher-order needs dominated.

• What kind of organization do you want to be part of? • What kind of leader do you want to be? • What kind to team do you have?

2- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory:

- Identifies five levels of individual needs. - Assumes that some needs are more important than others and must be satisfied before the other needs can serve

as motivators. People seek to satisfy 5 basic needs:

• Self-Actualisation; • Esteem; • Social (belongingness); • Safety; • Physiological.

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory

There is a hierarchy of five needs – physiology, safety, social, esteem and self-actualisation; as each need is substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant.

1- Physiological needs: Basic needs (like food; water; clothing & shelter) satisfied through wages; 2- Security needs: Basic protection from threats, such as safe working conditions, job security (secure

environment); 3- Social needs: Desire to be accepted by others such as love; affection and belonging (Feeling welcomed, part of

the group or organisation); 4- Esteem needs: Feeling your work is appreciated by others; Recognition from others (Awards, public recognition;

Informal recognition, communicating that a job is well done); 5- Self-actualisation needs: Achieving one’s potential; desire to develop capabilities to fullest.


Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower orders: - Physiological and safety are described as → lower-order needs. - Social, esteem, and self-actualisation are described as → higher-order needs.

• Higher-order needs are satisfied internally, Lower-order needs are predominantly satisfied externally.

• Lowest level needs must be met before higher level needs can be satisfied. As a need becomes substantially

satisfied, the next need becomes dominant. People start with lower-level needs and move up the hierarchy, one level at a time.

• A satisfied need is not a motivator. If you are save and well fed, you tern your attention elsewhere.

• We have an inbuilt desire to work our way up through the hierarchy of needs.

• Not meeting these needs has a negative effect on our mental health.

Maslow’s Theory and HRM: Many businesses have used Maslow’s hierarchy when establishing their HRM policies.

Meeting Maslow’s needs through HRM policies:

The needs Can be met through

Physiological - Good working conditions - Attractive wage or salary

- Subsidised housing - Free or subsidised catering

Security (safety) - Private health insurance cover - Attractive pension provisions

- Safe working conditions - ‘No redundancy’ policy

Social (relationship) - Company sports and social clubs - Office parties, barbeques, outings

- Permission for informal activities - Encourage open communications

Esteem - Regular positive feedback - Prestige job titles

- Photographs in company news sheet - Promotions

Self-actualisation - Challenging job assignments - Discretion over core work activities

- Promotion opportunities - Encouraging creativity

Safety needs

Social needs

Esteem needs

Self-actualisation

needs

Higher-order needs

Lower-order needs Physiological needs


Maslow’s Need Theory Critique: • Self-Actualisation is poorly defined (measure?).

• Question whether needs must be met in order to move up to the next level.

• Little empirical support.

• More descriptive of life than theory of motivation in the workplace.

3- Vroom’s Expectancy Theory (1964):

Concerned not with identifying types of needs, as Maslow’s theory, but with the thinking process that individuals use to achieve rewards

Vroom used the term ‘subjective probability’ to describe an individual’s expectation that certain behaviours would lead to a particular outcome. Expectancy theory suggests that people will be motivated if they feel that performance will lead to certain outcomes (pay, promotion, satisfaction, transfer, fired, etc).

Effort → Performance → Reward → Goals This choice is conscious and based on consideration of the following three factors:

Expectancy: Perception that effort leads to performance. Instrumentality: Relationship between performance and outcome. Valence: Rated attractiveness of outcome (value)

Produced first systematic formulation of expectancy theory of work motivation Expectancy theory states that the

strength or “force” of the individual’s motivation to behave in a particular way is: F = E x V

Where: F = the motivation or force to behave E = the expectation (subjective probability) that the behaviour will be followed by a particular outcome V = the valence of the outcome

• Approach provides a way of measuring human motivation.

• Termed preference an individual has for a particular outcomes its valence.

• Valence may be positive, neutral or negative. The Psychological Contract - What do we mean by “Psychological Contracts”? - What is right & wrong; acceptable & not acceptable? Defining the Psychological Contract: • Kotter (1973): “An implicit exchange between an individual and his organisation which specifies what each

expects to give and receive from each other in their relationship.”

• Herriot & Pemberton (1995): “The perceptions of both parties to the employment relationship, organisation and individual of the obligations implied in the relationship.”

• Rousseau (1995): “Individual beliefs, shaped by the organisation, regarding terms of an exchange agreement between individuals and their organisation.”

• Guest and Conway (2000): “The perceptions of both parties to the employment relationship, organisation and individual of the reciprocal promises and obligations implied in the relationship”


Written Contracts Items typically included in the Written Contract: • Job title;

• Description of duties;

• Date of appointment;

• Place & hours of work;

• Annual salary and other payments;

• Annual holiday entitlement;

• Sickness absence & payments;

• Notice period for termination;

• Disciplinary & grievance procedures. The Psychological Contract Expectations

Employers expect employees to: Employees expect employers to:

- Work hard; - Uphold company reputation; - Maintain levels of attendance and punctuality; - Show loyalty to the organisation; - Work extra hours when required; - Develop new skills and update old ones; - Be flexible and receptive to change; - Be courteous to clients and colleagues; - Be open and honest; - Come up with new ideas.

- Pay commensurate with performance; - Provide opportunities for training and development; - Provide opportunities for promotion; - Recognise innovation or ideas; - Give feedback on performance; - Provide interesting tasks; - Provide an attractive benefits package; - Treat everyone with respect; - Give reasonable job security; - Provide a pleasant and safe working environment

Importance of Psychological Contracts: • Employee beliefs that their hard work and loyalty should be rewarded with long-term employment security.

• Link individuals to organizations.

• Reflect the trust that is a fundamental feature of the employment relationship.

• Motivate individuals to fulfill their obligations (if they believe the other party will do the same).

• An individual may have a reason to believe that they will be recognised and promoted if they work hard, even

though this is not part of any formal employment contract. If this does not occur as expected, they may feel that their Psychological Contract has been violated, leading to dissatisfaction.

• A ‘healthy’ psychological contract is linked to outcomes (such as: positive employment relations, employee commitment, motivation and job satisfaction), this means that they are more likely to feel committed to their employer and motivated to work hard for them. And the inverse will be occur in the case of ‘week’ psychological contract.


Unpacking the language of psychological contract definitions: • Promises: Made by one party to another to engage in specific action.

• Obligation: Commitments to be delivered by party in receipt of promise.

• Expectation: Less binding language than promise and obligation.

Psychological Vs. Employee Contract:

Psychological Contracts Employee Contracts

- Dynamic relationship defining employees’ psychological involvement with employer.

- Reflects perceptions of expectations. - Interpretations may not be similar.

Formal contract that specifies agreements such as hours and type of work in return for compensation and benefits.

Flexible Working

One of the main impacts on the psychological contract in recent times is the introduction of Flexible Working for employee. Flexible working describes any working pattern adapted to suit peoples needs.

Flexible Working Options:

Part time - Job Sharing - Flexi time (gives employees some choice in the pattern of their daily work hours) - Compressed hours - Flexible shift – working/swapping - Voluntary Reduced Hours - Teleworking /Homeworking - Annualised hours - Term time working.

Advantage of Flexible Working:

Improved staff retention/loyalty - Improved motivation - Enhanced innovation and creativity - Reduced absenteeism - Flexibility to deal with change - Increase productivity and profits.

Disadvantages of Flexible Working: Possibility of lower wages, possible isolation and estrangement from work colleagues, difficulties of motivation,

organising, adapting and planning, and in some industries, flexible working could be an obstacle to promotion

Measuring demotivation: absenteeism Demotivation can have serious negative consequences not only for the individual who is demotivated but also for

their co-workers and the entire organization. Symptoms of employee demotivation:

• Increasing absenteeism; • High levels of turnover (people leaving the business); • Low output and productivity; • Lateness; • Frustration and unrest in work force; • Strikes and other various trade union action; • Defiant and violent behaviour of workers; • Non-cooperation, strikes.

There are two main factors that affect on the attendance at work: 1- A person’s motivation at work; 2- The ability to do their job.


Session 2 Designing satisfying work

Learning Objectives After studying this session, you should be able to:

1- Describe the factors that can affect job satisfaction; 2- Evaluate the job characteristics model and its implications for job redesign. 3- Provide an introduction to scientific management (or Taylorism). 4- Evaluate the potential benefits and problems of the introduction of semi-autonomous teams and relate this to

a practical business situation. The job characteristic model (Hackman & Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model):

• This model looks at the relationship between core characteristics, employee’s psychological states and key outcomes.

• Diagnostic approach to job enrichment.

Five core job characteristics are particularly important (Hackman & Oldham, 1980) as follows: 1- Skill variety: the degree to which the job requires different skills. 2- Task identity: the degree to which the job involves completing a whole, identifiable piece of work rather than

simply a part. 3- Task significance: the extent to which the job has an impact on other people, inside or outside the organization. 4- Autonomy: the extent to which the job allows jobholders to exercise choice and discretion in their work. 5- Feedback from the job: the extent to which the job itself (as opposed to other people) provides jobholders with

information on their performance.

Formula to determine motivating potential of job:

• When the core characteristics are highly enriched, three critical psychological states are positively influenced.

• Positive psychological states create positive work outcomes.

• Enriched core job characteristics will create positive psychological states, which in turn will create positive work outcomes only when:

- Employee growth-need strength is high.

- The employee has the requisite knowledge and skill.

- Employee context satisfaction exists.

Motivating Potential Score =

(MPS)

Skill Variety

Task Identity

Task Significance

3

+ + X Autonomy X Feedback


Hackman & Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model:

Job satisfaction

• Job satisfaction is a feeling about working and about the job. • Job satisfaction is the degree to which an individual feels positively or negatively about various aspects of the

job. Factor Affecting Job Satisfaction (motivation) at work:

Factor Examples

Individual Age, education, ability and personality.

Social Work relationships and the opportunity to interact with people at work (formally and informally).

Cultural The beliefs, attitudes and values.

Organisational The nature and size of the business, the types of management and supervisory styles, the working conditions, the type of technology used, business policies and procedures.

Environmental Economic, social, technical and governmental influences.

Psychometric testing: • A method of assessing ability, personality, motivation and behaviour.

• Psychometrics deals with the scientific measurement of individual differences (personality and intelligence).

• It attempts to measure the psychological qualities of individuals and use that knowledge to make predictions

about behaviour.

Core job characteristics

Critical psychological states

Outcomes

Autonomy

Feedback

from the job

Experienced meaningfulness

of the work

Experienced responsibility

for work outcomes

Knowledge of results of work

activities

High intrinsic

motivation

High job

satisfaction

High work effectivenes

s

Task identity

Task significance

Task variety


Types of psychometric tests: There are two types of psychological tests used by personnel selection practitioners: 1- Tests of cognitive ability: Cognitive assessment tests attempt to measure an individual’s ability to process

information from their environment. 2- Tests of personality measures: Personality measures are more concerned with people's dispositions to

behave in certain ways in certain situations.

Psychometric testing helps to (by the HRM): Reduce the risks of recruitment, Minimise the costs of selection, Recognise the potential in people, Reduce staff turnover, Improve productivity, Manage effective performance, Effect transition programmes, Control succession planning.

Job Design: • Job design is about how work might be organised or reorganised to meet the social needs of individuals and

operational needs of a business. The objective of job design is to remove obstacles in the workplace that frustrate those needs.

• Job design is a process of creating or defining jobs by assigning specific work tasks to individuals and groups. Drivers of job design:

1- A merger; 2- A drop of demand for products; 3- The implementation of an equal opportunities policy; 4- Dramatically changes in the jobs (e.g., new technology or restructuring). 5- Factors related to HRM (such as: recruitment, performance appraisal, also new technology or restructuring).

Taylorism (the classical approach of job design):

Scientific management developed by Frederick Taylor early 1900s. Systematically (five principles) determines how work, both manual and non-manual, should be divided into its smallest elements in order to maximize labour productivity. Taylor systematically attempted to make jobs simple and efficient (classical approach). Taylor’s writings continue to be influential; many businesses and jobs are still structured along the scientific management objective of:

1- Efficiency: achieved by increasing the outputs per worker. 2- Standardisation: of job performance, achieved by dividing up work tasks into small and clearly specified sub-

tasks. 3- Discipline: achieved by establishing hierarchical authority (especially, a clear division between the responsibilities

and tasks of workers and managers). Socio-technical systems:

• Systems that include technical systems but also operational processes and people who use and interact with the technical system. Socio-technical systems are governed by organisational policies and rules.

• Blends the sociological concerns of the worker with modern technology of robots and computer-controlled machines. For example, Flexible manufacturing systems: Adaptive computer-based technologies and integrated job designs that are used to shift work easily and quickly among alternative products.

• Reflects the importance of integrating people and technology to create high-performance work systems.


The principles of the socio-technical approach to job design are: 1- The design of one part of the system should not dictate the design of the other parts. 2- Job redesign not take place in a way that is totally removed from wider factors such as culture and group identity. 3- Redesign should involve employees.

The problems of introducing the socio-technical approach into business are:

1- Group dynamic and interpersonal conflict: Group dynamic: Is the study of followers’ behavior in groups. Group cohesiveness, illusions and differences in

status and pay within small groups can lead to conflict. 2- The organisational context: Factors such as pay and the structure of rewards must be appropriate. 3- Communication: the communication gap between senior management and the people at lower levels. 4- Management commitment: Management practice has to move in the direction of increasing real autonomy (free

from direct management) undermines managerial power and authority. 5- The impact on people in supervisory: Semi-autonomous work groups by definition need less control and

direction. This may present a difficulty for supervisors who have to appreciate that their role has changed.


Session 3 Finding people and helping them fit

1- The HRM Function: Develops an HRM system - set of activities - for planning, decision making, and execution concerning:

Recruitment and selection;

Training and development;

Performance appraisal/feedback;

Pay and benefits (rewards);

Labor relations.

Figure 1: Human resource management (HRM) system 2- Recruiting Human Resources:

The role of human resource recruitment is to build a supply of potential new hires that the organisation can draw on if the need arises.

Recruiting: any activity carried on by the organisation with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees.

Recruitment is often underrated as a communications function within a business. Any process of recruitment is saying something to the outside world about how the business presents itself. Recruitment and selection is a two-way process with information from both the applicant and the employer as to what each has to offer.

3- Stereotypes:

Assumptions that are made about a person or group’s character or attributes, based on a general image of a particular group of people.

It is a process of over simplification.

Stereotypes - beliefs (positive or negative) about attributes that are thought to be characteristic of members of particular groups.

Recruitment

and selection

Training and

development

Performance

appraisal

Pay

rewards

Labor

relations

A Human resource

management (HRM)

system determines how

a company makes a

decision about:


It characterises a whole group of people giving them qualities which may be found in one or two individuals (e.g. all black people are good at sport / all staff in AOU are smart/all Asains like to eat rice and drive slow/smart/Women are not as committed to their careers as men/Girl < Boy/Girl = weak, passive, the follower/women have weaker math ability/Women are qualitative.

Reasons for stereotyping: - Reflects power relations within our society - it subordinates certain groups.

- It involves some element of ridicule.

- Often the groups are economically or socially subordinate?

4- Selection:

The process of choosing individuals with qualifications needed to fill jobs in an organization.

The types of question that might be asked about the job would be: - What is the job holder responsible for? Budgets? The work of others? Resources?

- What sorts of working relationship are involved?

- What are the job requirements?

- What are the working conditions?

The job description: A statement of what a job holder does, how it is done and why it is done - covers job content, environment and conditions of employment. It is the total requirements of the job, and can be written after a job analysis (the total process by which you derive the job description and the person specification) is conducted. This allows the recruiters to know what skills and knowledge are required to meet the duties and responsibilities of the position. The job description is useful for informing applicants exactly what the job entails. Within the recruitment process, the job description leads on the next stage of specifying the types of person the business is looking for to fill the vacancy. This is called the person specification.

The person specification: A statement of minimum acceptable qualifications needed to perform a job successfully, also referred to as person specification (identifies the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to do the job effectively). Contains things like: qualifications required, previous experience needed, special skills needed, e.g. foreign languages. It is a vital tool in assessing the suitability of job applicants and refers to the person rather than the post. Refers to person rather than post.

Selection methods: the main methods of selecting employees for a business are: 1- Interview: the aim of the selection interview is to determine whether the candidate is interested in the job

and competent to do it. It is a two - process, it is also a chance for the applicant to assess if he/she wants the job being offered.

- Interviews are the most popular form of selection. - They can involve one or more interviewer. - They are a relatively cheap method.

- They can be unreliable as they don’t give a valid picture of how someone will perform on the job. - Chance for an employer to meet applicant face to face and can obtain much more information. - Assess the working culture of a possible new employer.


2- Tests: tests can be used to measure aptitude, such as competence in literacy or numeracy, or personality (psychometric tests 'Aptitude tests, Intelligence tests, and Personality tests'). Tests and their results are likely to form a part rather than the whole of a selection process as they provide quantitative but not qualitative information about an individual. Also selection tests increase chances of choosing best applicant and so minimise high costs of recruiting wrong people.

3- Assessment centre: this is a process, rather than a place, which uses a number of selection techniques, instruments and exercises in combination and designed to diagnose individuals’ development needs. An assessment centre evaluates a person’s potential by observing his/her performance in simulated work situations.

5- Induction and socialisation:

An induction programme is usually short term and includes the more obvious and practical things that can be done to help a new person settle a job and business. Socialisation is more long term and less tangible, it is the process by which the individual becomes a member of an organisational culture and takes on its values and behaviors. The types of information and support that may be useful for a newcomer include information at: individual level, job/task level, support at departmental level, and organizational level. Creation of a positive and mutual psychological contract between the employee and the employer.


Session 4 Assessing and developing people at work

1- Performance management: Performance management is the practice of actively using performance data to improve desired outcomes. It is a very important and integrated reform strategy whereby better results are obtained from the organisation, teams and individuals by understanding and managing performance within an agreed framework of planned goals, objectives, standards and competencies. The relationship between the performance of individual and that of the business is linked. Why performance management?

Ensuring that staff are motivated;

Provides an opportunity for support staff to discuss how they can develop their skills and progress their careers;

Helps focus on key areas of activities identified through strategic planning;

Establishes links between: - Organisational development/ goals/ objectives; - Development of employees at work.

Creates a common bond of ownership among all employees;

Creates an environment where all individuals are developed and inspired to improve performance. 2- Assessing performance: The key to managing and developing staff performance is to have a clear idea of what the job holder needs to do to be effective. Clarification of what is required is also a central part of appraisal and induction, and the achievement of standards is often linked to rewards and promotion. How can the business support employee performance?

- View employee performance from an overall corporate and teamwork perspective; - Link employee performance with business strategy; - Investment in employee training

3- Setting standards:

Performance Standards are objective and appropriate standards or guidelines that are used to guide and assess the work of the individual, as follows: Standards of performance:

Different components of performance and standards, terms and conditions and meeting contractual obligations

- Hours of attendance. - Procedures (e.g. notification of sickness absence). - Adherence to rules of organization as set out in formal contract.

Quality of work - Standards of written work. - Appearance of finished items of work. - Acceptance error rate.

Work output and timing - Quantity of finished items of work. - Production norms. - Deadliness and timescales for completion of work.

Interpersonal behaviour and dealing with others

- Standards of behaviour in relating to customers/clients - Appropriate behaviour in relation to other colleagues and

management.


Objective quantitative standards of performance: Quantitative standards may involve numerical targets, timescales and deadlines, amounts, costs and resource usage.

Difficulty of objective measures:

- Some objectives are not easily described in a single, testable measure (e.g. if a customer services manager wants to reward sales staff according to customer satisfaction, they will have to define, develop and test any criteria before using them for managing performance).

- They may not be as robust as they appear. Many apparently objective measures are, in reality, quite subjective (e.g. profitability).

Subjective qualitative standards of performance: Qualitative standards usually require a more subjective judgment about whether or not they are met. Subjective measures of performance are made in all businesses. The subjective measures are based on evaluator’s judgment, intuition, and feelings, e.g., attitude of employee.

Feedback on performance:

• Identify tasks performed of the job. • Develop performance standards. • Communicate frequently. • Make rewards contingent on performance. • Improve employee performance. • Decrease turnover. • Motivate self-improvement. • Build confidence and trust in staff abilities.

4- Performance appraisal:

Performance appraisal is a systematic description of job relevant strengths and weaknesses within and between employees and groups. Performance appraisal should accurately describe job performance behavior (not effectiveness).

Purposes of performance appraisal: • Evaluation: let people know where they stand relative to objectives and standards

• Development: assist in training and continued personal development of people.

Performance appraisal is argued to have benefits for all parties, for the individual (e.g. opportunity to encourage

staff to review their recent performance and development), for the manager (e.g. opportunity to motivate staff by recognizing achievements), and for the business (e.g. identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses in terms of existing skills and development requirement across business, and improved performance). 5- After assessment: development

- The term ‘development’ describes any experience or process that extends people’s skills or abilities. - Development is efforts to improve employees’ ability to handle a variety of assignments. Involves learning that

goes beyond today's job - more long - term focus.


6- Development is not just training course: Training and development methods (depending on the size of the business, the number of the people involved and

the complexity of what is that needs to be learnt), they are:

Coaching: a way of transforming knowledge and skill from a more experienced person to less experienced person;

Mentoring: is similar to coaching, but the person carrying out the mentoring should not be other person's line manager;

Job Rotation: job rotation involves assigning employees to various jobs so that they acquire a wider base of skills;

Special assignments/projects: increasing the skills base of individuals by arranging supervised project work in preparation for greater responsibility;

Action learning: a group of individual who work on their own chosen problems, but share advice and approaches to solving each other's problems;

'In-house' courses: a means of conveying knowledge and skills to groups of individuals through training (provided either from within the business or by external trainers);

Courses provided by external agencies: to convey knowledge or skills to groups of individuals, for example by specialist trainers or through attendance at a local college;

Distance learning: distance training is an educational process where a significant proportion of teaching is conducted by someone removed in space and time from the learner (e.g. Video presentations, TV broadcasts).

7- Different approaches to training and development: Factors that influence the provision of training:

- Operational factors (such as: the introduction of new technology);

- The size of the business;

- The type of sector;

- Government policy;

- Senior managers' commitment to training;

- The occupation of the employee.

Patterns of making training decisions: 1- Incidental learning: incidental learning but no formal investment - characterized companies in which there

was rarely a conscious decision to train; any training that did take place was in response to a specific obligation (such as health and safety training) or at least a compelling need.

2- Event-triggered training: includes companies in which formal training was undertaken, but only in response to specific events or problems like the introduction of a new technology or some reorganization in the workplace.

3- Commitment to the learning organization: consists of establishments in which continuous learning had become an integral part of the business and the workplace. Senior management believes that training, employee involvement and motivation are critical and complementary parts of business success.


Session 5 HRM in a wider context

The chartered institute of personnel and development (CIPD) in the UK:

Is a professional body for those involved in the management and development of people. The CIPD's Professional Standards govern entry to CIPD membership and form the basis of all their qualifications. Most CIPD qualifications lead to a professional grade of membership. A network of education centres offers a range of full-time, part-time and flexible learning courses. (http://www.cipd.co.uk/default.cipd) 1- Involving line managers in HRM: Line manager: A manager who is authorized to direct the work of subordinates and is responsible for accomplishing the

organisation’s tasks. Staff manager: A manager who assists and advises line managers. Line Managers’ HRM Responsibilities:

• Placing the right person on the right job;

• Starting new employees in the organisation (orientation);

• Training employees for jobs that are new to them;

• Improving the job performance of each person;

• Gaining creative cooperation and developing smooth working relationships;

• Interpreting the firm’s policies and procedures

• Controlling labor costs;

• Developing the abilities of each person;

• Creating and maintaining department morale; • Protecting employees’ health and physical condition.

Within small business it is usually the owner or a particular individual who will be responsible for HRM, probably

dealing with people issues as they arise. In larger businesses there is likely to be a dedicated HRM department made up of specialists. Increasingly, however, HRM issues will tend to be devolved to line managers. This is the key aspect of the HRM approach: that it is the individual managers who work with employees on a day-to-day basis who will know best about the kind of person required for the job and the best ways to motivate them.

Advantages Disadvantages

HRM specialists (professionals)

- Could provide a more objective assessment in recruitment or performance appraisal.

- Broader view of HRM procedures and policies.

- 'On-tap' HRM services with dedicated time to spend on HRM maters.

Removed from day-to-day observation and knowledge of individual employees. - Received as a bureaucratic nuisance. - Large amounts of employment data to gather

and process.

Line managers - Direct conduct with and knowledge of employees.

- Immediate approach to problems.

- Dealing with paperwork involved could be very time consuming.

- Need to learn and update people-management skills.


2- Hard and Soft HRM: The characteristics of hard and soft HR policies are widely known. John Storey (1995), in new perspectives on

HRM, made a distinction between two versions of HRM. The former place an emphasis on the ‘resource’ factor and the latter on the ‘human’ factor. - Instrumental (Hard) HRM:

Stresses HRM's focus on the crucial importance of the close integration of human resource policies, systems and activities with business strategy. From this perspective human resources are largely a factor of production, an expense of doing business rather than the only resource capable of turning inanimate factors of production in to wealth. The focus is on the "resource" in HRM.

Hard HRM is often associated with regressive people management policies. These tend to be shorter-term (and perhaps opportunist), instrumental policies. Employees are treated as factors of production to be deployed and managed as any other material resource. The policies are predominantly characterised in terms of ‘control and command’.

Employees are treated as a resource, aim to pay them as low as possible, they need to be controlled.

It emphasises the need to manage people in ways that will obtain added value from them and thus achieve competitive advantage. Thus it concentrates on quantitative, measurable criteria, control and performance management.

Stresses the rational, qualitative and strategic aspects of managing human resources. Performance improvement and competitive advantage highlighted.

- Humanistic (Soft) HRM:

Soft HRM is usually seen as longer-term and arguably more strategic in focus and more developmental. It regards the human asset as an investment (rather than a cost). The reasoning is that this investment will be repaid in increased commitment and improved performance if people are empowered and treated with respect.

Employees are the most valuable asset of the business and they need to be developed to ensure they are being used optimally/effectively. The focus is on the "human" in HRM

Is based upon human relations school and is identified by Storey as involving `treating employees as valued assets, a source of competitive advantage through their commitment, adaptability and high quality skill, proactive rather than passive inputs in to productive processes, capable of development, worthy of trust and collaboration which is achieved through participation and performance. The need to gain commitment of employees; the interests of management and employees should coincide and integration and team work.


Hard HRM Soft HRM

- Carefully delineate written contracts of employment. - Monitor performance closely. - Offer controlled access to training courses. - Set formal roles and monitor adherence to them. - Implement managerial decisions for workforce. - Construct regularized pay sales. - Have collective barging contracts (if unions are present). - Workers are a resource like any other resource. - The interests of management. - Adopting a strategic approach that is closely integrated

with business strategy. - Obtaining added value from people by the process of

human resource deployment and performance management.

- The need for a strong corporate culture expressed in mission and value statements and reinforced by communications, training and performance management process.

- Working with individual contracts of employment. - Utilising performance-related pay schemes. - Encouraging team work. - Using facilitative and participatory approaches in

decision making. - Treating the selection and recruitment of employee as

an integral, key task within the business strategy. - Being alert to employees needs for motivation,

flexibility, and so on. - Workers are key to competitive advantage and must be

nurtured and developed. - Flexibility - efficient production employees first.

3- Academic models of HRM:

Storey (1989) has distinguished between hard and soft forms of HRM, typified by the Michigan and Harvard models respectively. 'Hard' HRM focuses on the 'resource' side of human resources. It emphasizes costs in the form of 'headcounts' and places control firmly in the hands of management. 'Soft' HRM, on the other hand, stresses the 'human' aspects of HRM. Its concerns are with communication and motivation. People are led rather than managed. They are involved in determining and realizing strategic objectives. 1- The Harvard model of HRM (1981):

The Harvard model was developed within the American Business School and first presented in Beer et al. (1984). The Harvard approach assumes that the interests of employees and other stakeholders, together with situational factors, have a direct influence on HRM policy choices. According to this approach, employees not only matter as resources for the production process, but also as individuals in themselves. In other words, it stresses the human factor in HRM. The Harvard interpretation sees employees as resources. However, they are viewed as being fundamentally different from other resources - they cannot be managed in the same way. The stress is on people as human resources. The Harvard approach recognizes an element of mutuality in all businesses, a concept with parallels in Japanese people management, as we observed earlier. Employees are significant stakeholders in an organization. They have their own needs and concerns along with other groups such as shareholders and customers.

According to this approach, a central objective of HRM is to align the interests of employees and management. This is primarily a management task, and requires a strategic vision on personnel management and the integration of HRM practices with the organisation’s policy. The Harvard Map or model outlines four HR policy areas (figure 2):

1- Human resource flows: recruitment, selection, placement, appraisal and assessment, promotion, termination, etc; 2- Reward systems: pay systems, motivation, etc. There are two types of rewards, it may be extrinsic rewards

'tangible pay and benefits' (such as: pay, overtime pay, bonuses, profit sharing, pensions, health insurance, and other benefits such as flexible working hours) or intrinsic rewards 'intangible pay and benefits' (such as: job satisfaction, and organisational commitment that strongly influence on employee's motivation);

3- Employee influence: delegated levels of authority, responsibility, power. One of the critical question here is: if

management share their influence, to what extent does this create compatibility (congruence) of interest between

http://www.bestbooks.biz/hrm/harvard_beer.htm


management and groups of employees? The assumption the authors (Beer et al., 1984) make is that any influence employees have should be compatible with management's purpose and priorities;

4- Work systems: definition/design of work and alignment of people.

Which in turn lead to the 'four C's' or HR policies that have to be achieved: 1- Commitment;

2- Congruence;

3- Competence;

4- Cost effectiveness.

Figure 2: Human resource system

Managers should ask to what extent the policies they implement will: enhance the commitment of people to

their work and the organization; attract, retain, and develop people with the needed competence; sustain congruence (compatibility) between management and employees; and be cost-effective in terms of wages, employee turnover, and risk of employee dissatisfaction.

There have been a number of attempts to describe the interlinkages between HRM and organizational goals.

The Harvard model of Beer et al. (1985) (Figure 3) characterizes HRM as a system which links corporate objectives into societal needs and back into human resource activities. This framework, therefore, describes the integration between business and society. Perhaps the main weakness of this framework is its failure to show corporate or business strategy as a key determinant of human resource strategies and policies.

Employee

influence

Work

system

Human

resource

flow Rewards


Figure 3: The Harvard analytical framework for HRM (from Human Resource Management: A General Manager’s Perspective by Beer et al., 1984)

The Michigan model of HRM (1984):

The Michigan model was developed within the University of Michigan and presented in Fombrun et al. (1984). It

is primarily based on principles that stem from strategic management. Central in this approach are the basic functions of personnel management: selection, appraisal, rewards and development. Instruments and policies in these fields have an effect on the performance of individual employees, which in turn affects organisational performance. The main HRM objective is to organize and utilize these functions in such a way, that their impact on organisational performance is maximized. This can be obtained by ensuring that the various HRM practices are developed in relationship with the organisation’s strategy. The success of HRM practices depends on the horizontal and vertical fit of an organisation’s HRM. Horizontal fit refers to the necessary integration of individual HRM practices, while vertical fit implicates the necessary match between human resource policy as a whole and the organisation strategy.

The Michigan model represents the external and internal factors of HRM as a triangle (figure 4). Once management have decided how the mission and business strategy, organization structure, and appropriate response to political, economic, and culture forces – then they can begin to design the human resource system in more details.

Stakeholder interests • Stakeholders

• Management

• Employee groups

• Government

• Community

• Unions

Situational factors • Workforce characteristics

• Business strategy and

conditions

• Management philosophy

• Labour market

• Unions

• Task technology

• Laws and societal values

HRM policy

choices • Employee

influences

• Human resources

flow

• Reward systems

• Work systems

HRM

outcomes

(The 'four Cs') • Commitment

• Competence

• Congruence

• Cost

effectiveness

Long-term

consequences • Individual well-

being

• Organizational

effectiveness

• Societal well-

being


Figure 4: The Michigan model of HRM

Fombrun et al. (1984) identified four common HR processes performed in every organization:

1- Selection: matching people to jobs;

2- Appraisal of performance;

3- Rewards: emphasizing the real importance of pay and other forms of compensation in achieving results;

4- Development of skilled individuals. These processes are linked in a human resource cycle (Figure 5).

Figure 5: the human resource cycle

Cultural

forces

Political

forces

Mission

and

strategy

Organizational

structure

Human

resource management

Economic

forces

Firm

Performance

Selection

Development

Rewards

Appraisal


The Michigan approach assumes a shareholder perspective of HRM, according to which HRM should only be concerned with maximising organisational goals. Employees are resources that should be managed in an efficient and effective way. Motivation and well-being of employees may be relevant, but only to the extent that they influence employee and organisational performance.

The Michigan style of HRM also focuses on employees as the key factor in production, but has a different

emphasis to the Harvard style. The Michigan style is focused on linking strategic management to employee management, and accordingly is more likely to treat employees as a resource to be utilised as efficiently and effectively as possible for the maximum strategic benefit of the organisation. In this style of HRM, the main focus is on attaining competitive advantage through the judicious use of employees’ skills and abilities.

The Michigan model is also known as the 'matching model' or 'best-fit' approach to HRM. In essence, it requires

that human resource strategies have a tight fit to the overall strategies of the business. As such, it limits the role of HR to a reactive, organizational function and under-emphasizes the importance of societal and other external factors.

The matching model has attracted criticism. At a conceptual level, it is seen to depend on a rational, mechanical

form of organizational decision-making. In reality, strategies are often determined and operationalized on a more intuitive, political and subjective level. Certainly, the decision-making is more complex than the model allows. It is also both prescriptive and normative, implying that the fit to business strategy should determine HR strategy. Differences between the two models:

A different view of HRM is associated with the Michigan Business School (Fombrun et al., 1984). There are many similarities with the Harvard 'map' but the Michigan model has a harder, less humanistic edge, holding that employees are resources in the same way as any other business resource.

By comparison to the Harvard style of HRM, the Michigan model is described as the ‘hard’ because of the stress

on rational-calculative behaviour focused fixedly on organisational outcomes. The reason the dichotomy between the hard and soft approaches to HRMarises so often is probably related to questions of power.

Another distinction that can be made is that the Harvard approach stresses the importance of the motivation of

employees, while the Michigan approach focuses on the ability of employees. Recent theories on the relationship between HRM and organisational performance seem to combine elements from both approaches. 3- Guest’s model of HRM (UK):

David Guest's (1989, 1997) model of HRM has 6 dimensions of analysis: HRM strategy; HRM practices; HRM outcomes; Behaviour outcomes; Performance outcomes and Financial outcomes. Guest's model constitutes soft HRM for the same reasons that the Harvard model does: both give strong recognition to the need of employees (e.g. motivation and development) in the running of the organization. Guest has taken the Harvard Model and developed it further by defining 4 policy goals:

• Strategic Integration;

• High Commitment;

• High Quality;

• Flexibility.


The Guest model of HRM (source: Guest, 1997):

HRM strategy HRM practices HRM outcomes Behaviour outcomes

Performance outcomes

Financial outcomes

- Differentiation (innovation)

- Focus (quality) - Cost (cost-

reduction)

- Selection - Training - Appraisal - Rewards - Job design - Involvement - Status and

security

- Commitment - Quality - Flexibility

- Effort/ motivation - Cooperation - Involvement - Organizational

citizenship

High: productivity Quality Innovation Low: Absence Labour turnover Conflict Customer complaints

- Profit - Return on investment (ROI)

The model is prescriptive in the sense that it is based on the assumption that HRM is distinctively different from

traditional personnel management (rooted in strategic management, etc.). It is idealistic, implicitly embodying the belief that fundamental elements of the HRM approach (essentially those of the Harvard map) such as commitment have a direct relationship with valued business consequences.

However, Guest has acknowledged that the concept of commitment is 'messy' and that the relationship between commitment and high performance is (or, perhaps, was - given the age of this material) difficult to establish. It also employs a 'flow' approach, seeing strategy underpinning practice, leading to a variety of desired outcomes. 4- HRM: theory and practice (strategic view) Is strategic integration possible?

• A central implication of HRM is that people management is linked to business strategy. Related to this is the notion that the various people-management policies and practices that a business operates should be coherent and consistent in order to help deliver business strategy. It is debatable how the fit between business strategy and HRM strategy, policy and practice - known as external integration - might be best achieved.

• The kind of rational analysis necessary to deliver an HRM strategy and to formulate HRM policy and practice is likely to be subverted by the political interests of the various parties involved, many of whom may wish to resist change to protect their own power base.

Strategic integration and the ethical dimension of HRM:

• HR managers today are increasingly faced with complex, ambiguous and conflicting issues involving questions of morality and standards of behaviour.

• Some contentious issues: terminations, job insecurity, stress, monitoring employee email, use of child labour in developing countries, performance bonuses for top managers and job losses for those at the lower levels, etc.

The unethical practice of HRM itself has also hit public attention:

- Off-shoring and exploiting ‘cheap’ labour markets; - Using child labour; - Reneging on company pension agreements - Longer working hours; - Increasing work stress; - The use of disputed and dubious practices in hiring and firing of personnel.


It has been shown that just as consumers’ perception of the ethics of a company can affect sales, so the views of its investors will affect its share price. Similarly, it has been suggested that poor standards of conduct emanating from the top management affect employee motivation and commitment to organisational goals.

How far do you agree with the following list of HR objectives?

- In recruitment and selection: ensure that all assessment measures are fair and just. - In reward management: ensure fairness in allocation of pay and benefits. - In promotion and development: ensure equal opportunities and equal access. - Ensure a safe working environment in both for all employees.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and HRM:

With the help of HR functions, the socially responsible values can be inculcated and sustained in the organizational culture through the following ways:

1- The HRM should take the responsibility to develop a formal policy on sustainable practices involving employees. 2- The orientation program of newly recruited candidates should be designed in a manner that corporate philosophy

about CSR gets highlighted. 3- The designing of performance management system should be done in such a manner that it measures the socially

responsible initiatives taken by employees. 4- The training facilities may also be made available to instill the CSR culture among employees. 5- Empowerment of managers by giving them decision-making authority shall help in executing social responsibility at

local level. 5- Code of ethics of an organization can stimulate social responsibility to a great extent reinforcing amongst its

employees the underlying values. 6- Responsible HRM practices on equal opportunities, diversity management, whistle blowing, redundancy, human

rights, harrasment shall give credibility to the CSR initiatives of the organization. 7- The separation of employees during mergers, acquisitions, downsizing etc. should be strategically aligned with the

business strategy as well as Corporate Social responsibility. 8- Social Reports or Sustainability Reports should be prepared to underline the organization’s commitment to social or

sustainable practices. 9- The Human Resource department should effectively measure and evaluate CSR activities. 5- 'Mischief' at work:

Another aspect of work that can challenge the implementation of HRM policies is 'organisational mischief'. All business have a visible (or formal) and less obvious (informal) side. Some things can be quite easily controlled and structured (e.g. office space, pay structures) and some things cannot (e.g. attitudes, chemistry between individuals or groups).

Organisational mischief: activities occurring within the workplace that (a) according to official structure, culture, rules and procedures of the organisation "should not happen" and (b) contain an element of challenge to dominant modes of operating or to dominant interests in the organisation.

book 2- an introduction to human resource management

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