Manager’s role in strategic human resource management Huang He

What will do in this years? What will do in this month? What will you do in the future? What do you want to be? Why you choose this career? What’s your advantage and disadvantage? What will do in the three years? What will do in this years? What will do in this month?

How managers set objectives Setting SMART Goals Setting Motivational Goals Using Management by Objectives

HRM is Important to all Managers. Don’t Let These Happen to You! The wrong person High turnover Poor results Useless interviews Court actions Salaries appear unfair Poor training Unfair labor practices Hire the wrong person for the job Experience high turnover Find your people not doing their best Waste time with useless interviews Have your company taken to court because of discriminatory actions Have your company cited under federal occupational safety laws for unsafe practices Have some employees think their salaries are unfair and inequitable relative to others in the organization Allow a lack of training to undermine your department’s effectiveness Commit any unfair labor practices

Line and Staff Aspects of HRM Definition Authority Making decisions Directing work Giving orders Line Managers Accomplishing goals Staff Managers Assisting and advising line managers Authority is the right to make decisions, to direct the work of others, and to give orders Line Managers are authorized to direct the work of subordinates. They are always someone’s boss. In general they are in charge of accomplishing of the group’s goals Staff Managers are authorized to assist and advise line managers in their goals. They aid line managers in areas like recruiting, hiring and compensation

Line Manager’s HRM Jobs The right person Orientation Training Performance Working relationships Policies and procedures Labor costs Development Morale Protecting 1. Placing the right person on the right job 2. Starting new employees in the organization (orientation) 3. Training employees for jobs that are new to them 4. Improving the job performance of each person 5. Gaining creative cooperation and developing smooth working relationships 6. Interpreting the company’s policies and procedures 7. Controlling labor costs 8. Developing the abilities of each person 9. Creating and maintaining department morale 10. Protecting employees’ health and physical condition

Staff Manager’s HRM Jobs Line authority Functional control Staff fuctions Implied authority line authority The authority exerted by a personnel manager by directing the activities of the people in his or her own department and in service areas (like the plant cafeteria). implied authority The authority exerted by a personnel manager by virtue of others’ knowledge that he or she has access to top management (in areas like testing and affirmative action). functional control The authority exerted by an HR manager as coordinator of personnel activities. employee advocacy HR must take responsibility for clearly defining how management should be treating employees, make sure employees have the mechanisms required to contest unfair practices, and represent the interests of employees within the framework of its primary obligation to senior management.

HR’s evolving role Change Agent Protector and Screener Today, HR’s role is shifting from protector and screener to strategic partner and change agent. The metamorphosis of “personnel” into “human resource management” reflects that. In today’s flattened, downsized, and high-performing organizations, trained and committed employees—not machines—are the firm’s competitive key. Strategic Partner

Strategic HRM Definition Strategic human resource management: linking HRM with strategic goals and objectives to improve business performance and develop organizational cultures fostering innovation and flexibility. Clarify the business strategy Realign the HR functions and key people practices strategic human resource management The linking of HRM with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational cultures that foster innovation and flexibility. HR strategies are the courses of action HR uses to help the company achieve its strategic aims. One of FedEx’s strategic aims is to achieve superior levels of customer service and high profitability through committed employees. Its basic HR objective is thus to build a committed workforce. Create needed competencies and behaviors Realization of business strategies and results Evaluate and refine

Is There a “One Best HR Way”? All companies can benefit from Profit sharing programs Results oriented appraisals Employment security Foster informal relationships- promote worldwide communications Develop global executives First, studies do suggest that some HR approaches are applicable to all or most companies. On the other hand, there appears to be no “best practices” magic bullet, except to organize a firm’s HR practices to fit its strategy and to “support the firm’s operating and strategic initiatives.” In other words, dropping an HR practice into your firm just because it worked well in another is risky. In a study of banks, researchers measured performance on two financial measures: return on average assets, and return on equity.76 They found that “the results of these analyses show that differences in HR practices are associated with rather large differences (approximately 30%) in financial performance.” A study of 97 manufacturing plants in the metalworking industry similarly concluded that HR practices did affect plant performance, but that how you design the HR practice has to fit the company’s strategy and what the company wants to achieve.

Case study As a new member of the board of directors for a local bank, Jack Nelson was being introduced to all the employees in the home office. When he was introduced to Ruth Johnson, he was curious about her work and asked her what her machine did. Johnson replied that she really did not know what the machine was called or what it did. She explained that she had only been working there for two months. She did, however, know precisely how to operate the machine. According to her supervisor, she was an excellent employee. At one of the branch offices, the supervisor in charge spoke to Nelson confidentially, telling him that “something was wrong,” but she didn’t know what. For one thing, she explained, employee turnover was too high, and no sooner had one employee been put on the job than another one resigned. With customers to see and loans to be made, she continued, she had little time to work with the new employees as they came and went.

All branch supervisors hired their own employees without communication with the home office or other branches. When an opening developed, the supervisor tried to find a suitable employee to replace the worker who had quit. After touring the 22 branches and finding similar problems in many of them, Nelson wondered what the home office should do or what action he should take. The banking firm was generally regarded as a well-run institution that had grown from 27 to 191 employees during the past eight years. The more he thought about the matter, the more puzzled Nelson became. He couldn’t quite put his finger on the problem, and he didn't know whether to report his findings to the president.

questions what do you think is causing some of the problems in the bank home office and branches? Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help? What specific functions should an HR unit carry out? What HR functions would then be carried out by supervisors and other line managers? What role should the internet play in the new HR organization?