The Environmental Context of Human Resource Management What is Human Resource Management? HRM is the set of organizational activities directed at attracting, developing, and maintaining an effective workforce. Why Human Resource Management? Human resources are critical for effective organizational functioning.

Job Analysis Job Analysis is a systematic procedure for studying jobs to determine their various elements and requirements. Job Description is a list of elements that make up a particular job. Job Specification is a list of the qualifications [skills, abilities, etc.] required to perform a particular job. Job Analysis is the basis for recruiting and selecting employees for existing or new jobs and is used to prepare job evaluation forms and to determine compensation levels.

Job Description and Job Specification Source: Used with permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.

Attracting Human Resources How do HRMs forecast human resource demand and supply? Assessing trends. Sales forecast analysis. Forecasting the labor supply. Plan for dealing with predicted shortfalls or overstaffing.

Attracting Human Resources Replacement Chart – lists each important managerial position in the organization and identifies: who occupies it how long he or she will probably remain in that position who is or will be a qualified replacement

Attracting Human Resources Employee Information System: Generally a computerized record on each employee’s education, skills, experience and career aspirations. Easily able to identify any and all employees who are eligible to fill positions.

Human Resource Planning Assess trends in: External labor market Current employees Future organizational plans General economic trends Predict demand Forecast internal supply Forecast external supply Compare future demand and internal supply Plan for dealing with predicted shortfalls or overstaffing

Recruiting Human Resources What is recruiting? Attracting qualified people to apply for the jobs that are open. What are the forms of recruiting? Internal recruiting: considering present employees as candidates for openings. External recruiting: attracting people outside the organization to apply for jobs.

Recruiting Human Resources It is important to bring about a good person-job fit. The Realistic Job Preview [RJP] provides the applicant with a real picture of what the job would be like.

Recruiting Human Resources Validation – determining the extent to which a selection device is really predictive of future job performance. Predictive validation – involves collecting scores of employees or applicants on a device to be validated and correlating their scores with actual job performance.

Recruiting Human Resources Content validation – uses logic and job analysis data to establish that the selection device measures the exact skills needed for successful job performance. Can the applicant actually perform the duties?

Recruiting Human Resources Selection Processes: Application Blanks Tests of ability, skill aptitude or knowledge Interviews Assessment Centers – managerial simulations Polygraphs, Drug tests, Physicals, Credit checks

Selecting Human Resources Validation, determining the extent to which a selection device is predictive of future job performance Application Blanks Tests Interviews Assessment Centers

Developing Human Resources What does training mean? Teaching operational or technical employees how to do the job for which they were hired. What is employee development? Teaching managers and professionals the skills needed for both present and future jobs.

The Training Process

What Is a Performance Appraisal? A Performance Appraisal is a formal assessment of how well an employee is doing his or her job. There are various form of appraisals such as: Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale [BARS], a sophisticated rating method in which supervisors construct a rating scale associated with behavioral anchors.

What Is a Performance Appraisal? Common Appraisal Methods: Objective Methods – includes actual output and special performance tests. Judgmental Methods – ranking and rating techniques are the most common. Rating differs from Ranking in that it compares each employee with a fixed standard rather than comparison with other employees.

Graphic Rating Scales for a Bank Teller

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale

What Is a Performance Appraisal? Errors in Performance Appraisals: ‘Recency’ Error – the tendency to base judgments on the subordinate's most recent performance because it is most easily recalled. Overuse of one part of the scale – giving everyone a rating of ‘average’, being too easy or too tough. Halo Error – allowing the assessment of an employee on one dimension to ‘spread’ to ratings of that employee on other dimensions.

What Is a Performance Appraisal? 360-degree Feedback - is a performance appraisal system in which managers are evaluated by everyone around them – their boss, their peers and their subordinates.

What Is a Performance Appraisal? Performance Feedback: Last step in the performance appraisal Discussion should generally be focused on the facts: The assessed level of performance How and why that assessment was made How it can be improved in the future