1. Human Resource Management
Exploring Management
Chapter 10
Human Resource Management

2. Chapter 10
What are the purpose and legal context of human resource management?
What are the essential human resource management practices?
What are some of the current issues in human resource management?
Human resource management is not just for human resource managers. Managers, supervisors and all employees benefit from understanding HR.

3. 10.1 HRM Purpose and Legal Context
Human resource management attracts, develops, and maintains a talented workforce
Strategic human resource management aligns human capital with organizational strategies
Government legislation is supposed to protect workers against employment discrimination
Laws can’t guarantee that employment discrimination will never happen
Good HR policies and skills are essential. HRM is one of the areas where being proactive is necessary.

4. HRM Purpose and Legal Context Maintaining a Talented Workforce
Major responsibilities of Human Resource Management (HRM) include:
Attracting a quality workforce
Developing a quality workforce
Maintaining a quality workforce
There should be as much emphasis on keeping good employees as there is in finding them. Recruiting is very expensive.

5. HRM Purpose and Legal Context Strategic HR
Strategic human resource management
aligns human capital with organizational strategies.
Human capital
skills, knowledge, innovation, creativity, energy and commitment to offer to the organization.
HR professionals are increasingly involved in top management and organizational strategic planning.

6. HRM Purpose and Legal Context Discrimination Laws
Job discrimination
Employment decisions made for reasons that are not relevant to the job
Equal employment opportunity (EEO)
The right to employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is an important law that guarantees equal employment opportunity
Discrimination not only hurts workers, it hurts organizations. It makes sense to hire and promote the best person for the job regardless of race, color, gender, religion…

7. HRM Purpose and Legal Context Discrimination Laws
Affirmative Action
Effort to give employment preference to women and minority group members
Affirmative Action plans
Attempt to ensure that percentage of minorities within the organization are a similar proportion to the labor market availability
Reverse discrimination
Claims of discrimination by majority populations
Affirmative action has been the subject of much controversy since its inception. The basic principle behind it is that organizations should make every effort to have a workforce that resembles the community if possible.

8. HRM Purpose and Legal Context Discrimination Laws
Bona fide occupational qualifications
Criteria for employment is justified for ability to perform a job
May seem discriminatory
Example – female locker room attendant
Bona fide occupational qualifications are exceptions to equal employment law because of a business necessity. They are rarely recognized as a defense against discrimination claims.

9. HRM Purpose and Legal Context Selected Discrimination Laws
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires equal pay for women and men doing equal work. It describes equal work in terms of skills, responsibilities, and working conditions.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 as amended in 1978 and 1986 protects workers against mandatory retirement ages. Age discrimination occurs when a qualified individual is adversely affected by a job action that replaces him or her with a younger worker.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 protects female workers from discrimination because of pregnancy. A pregnant employee is protected against termination or adverse job action because of the pregnancy and is entitled to reasonable time off work.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as amended in 2008 prevents discrimination against people with disabilities. The law requires employment decisions be based on a person’s abilities and what he or she can do.
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 protects workers who take unpaid leaves for family matters from losing their jobs or employment status. Workers are allowed up to 12 weeks of leave for childbirth, adoption, personal illness, or illness of a family member.
These are just a few of the laws protecting workers from discrimination. The basic principals behind them are fairness and equality.

10. HRM Purpose and Legal Context Employee Rights
Workplace privacy
Right to privacy on the job
Technology creates issues with employer and employee rights: social media, , internet use
Employers need to have well-thought-out privacy policies and communicate them clearly to employees. Employees need to refrain from non-essential internet use during work hours. Online privacy is not protected by law.

11. HRM Purpose and Legal Context Employee Rights
Pay discrimination and comparable worth
People with similar jobs should receive comparable pay
Lillie Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Lengthened the time frame to file claims of pay discrimination
Comparable worth is still a problem, especially for women.
Lillie Ledbetter is pictured directly above President Obama. The act is one of the first he signed after becoming president in 2009.

12. HRM Purpose and Legal Context Employee Rights
Pregnancy discrimination
Penalizes women as applicants or employees for being pregnant
Hiring
Promotions
Leaves
Job assignments
Pregnancy is treated very similar to a short term disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

13. HRM Purpose and Legal Context Employee Rights
Age discrimination
Penalizes employees 40 and over as applicants or employees
Average age in the workforce is increasing and so are claims of discrimination
Older workers are finding it harder to find work after a layoff than younger workers. Age discrimination claims are harder to prove than other forms of discrimination.

14. Recruitment attracts qualified job applicants
10.2 HRM Practices
Recruitment attracts qualified job applicants
Selection makes decisions to hire qualified job applicants
Socialization and orientation integrate new employees into the organization
Training continually develops employees skills and capabilities
Performance management appraises and rewards accomplishments
Retention and career development provide career paths
Good hiring policies not only increase the chances that an employee will be productive, but it also decreases turnover, which is expensive.

15. HRM PRACTICES Recruiting
Person-job fit
Match of an individual’s skills, interests and abilities with the requirements of the job
Person-organization fit
Match of an individual’s values, interests and behavior with organization’s culture
Effective recruitment and selection increase the chances that a large pool of qualified candidates will apply.

16. HRM PRACTICES Recruiting
Recruitment
Attracting a pool of qualified applicants to the organization
Effective recruitment increases the chances that a large pool of qualified candidates will apply.

17. HRM PRACTICES Recruiting
Realistic job preview
Gives the candidate both the good and bad points of the job and organization
Often highlight rewards and challenges of the position
Many organizations offer realistic job previews. They can decrease turnover by creating realistic expectations of new hires in occupations such as telemarketing, healthcare and law enforcement.

18. HRM PRACTICES Selection
Choosing applicants with the greatest potential from the pool
Effective selection increase the chances that new hires will be qualified for the position and remain with the employer.

19. HRM PRACTICES Selecting
Reliability
Employment test or selection device provides consistent measurement of applicant skills, time after time.
Validity
Employment test or selection device is a good predictor of future job performance.
It’s important to use reliable and valid screening to avoid discrimination.

20. HRM PRACTICES Selecting
Assessment centers
Evaluates applicant abilities by observing performance in simulated work activities
Work sampling
Actual work is graded by observers

21. HRM PRACTICES Socialization and Orientation
Process of influencing the expectations, behavior and attitudes of new employees in a positive way
Orientation
Activities that familiarize new employees with the new job and the organization
Socialization and orientation are also referred to as “onboarding”.

22. HRM PRACTICES Training
Improves employee skills and capabilities
Coaching
Experienced employees provide advice and motivation
Large organization with lots of resources usually have strong training programs. Training in small organizations is often very incomplete.

23. HRM PRACTICES Training
Mentoring
Experienced employees share expertise with newer employees
Reverse mentoring
Newer employees share expertise with experienced employees
Technology
Social media
Some organizations have formal mentoring programs, but often it is a very informal process.

24. HRM PRACTICES Performance Management
Performance Appraisal
Process of assessing and providing feedback on employee work accomplishment
Document performance
Communicate performance
Identify how to improve performance
Most large organizations have formal performance management systems, but many small organizations have very limited systems for performance appraisal.

25. HRM PRACTICES Performance Management
Graphic rating scale
Checklist or score card for rating employee traits or performance characteristics
Quality of work
Quantity of work
Attendance
Punctuality
Graphic rating scales should be combined with specific comments and an appraisal interview.

26. HRM PRACTICES Performance Management
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)
Describes actual behaviors that indicate various levels of performance
Behaviorally anchored rating scales have clear descriptions of specific performance under certain circumstances. They are time-consuming to create, but easy to use.

27. HRM PRACTICES Performance Management
Critical incident technique
Keeps an actual record of employee behavior in certain circumstances
Multi-person comparison
Employees are rated relative to other employees
Multi person comparisons allow employers to actually rank employees.

28. HRM PRACTICES Performance Management
360 degree feedback
Input from those who work with the employee
Direct report employees
Direct supervisor
Peers
Sometimes customers and vendors are also involved.

29. HRM PRACTICES Retention and Career Development
Process of career growth and progress
Career Planning
Matching career goals and individual abilities with opportunities
Career planning is the responsibility of the employee, although some organizations offer assistance.

30. Compensation plans influence employee recruitment and retention
10.3 Current Issues in HRM
Today’s lifestyles increase demands for flexibility and work-life balance
Organizations are using more independent contractors and part-time workers
Compensation plans influence employee recruitment and retention
Fringe benefits are an important part of employee compensation packages
Labor relations and collective bargaining are closely governed by law
HR needs to keep on top of constantly changing laws, benefit costs and trends, effective compensation plans and employee needs.

31. CURRENT ISSUES Work-life balance
Balancing career demands with personal and family needs
Many organizations have undergone massive layoffs, requiring more work from surviving employees. Balancing work and personal life become increasingly difficult with the increased work demands.

32. CURRENT ISSUES Employment Trends
Independent contractors
Hired with temporary contracts
Not permanent employees
Contingency workers
Sometimes called permatemps
Work regular or part-time hours on long term basis
Organizations have been reluctant to hire permanent employees as the economy slowly recovers from the recession. Independent contractors and contingency workers are a couple of solutions to their needs.

33. CURRENT ISSUES Compensation
Merit pay
Pay increase for good job performance
Bonus pay
One-time payment for performance or accomplishments
Again, increased motivation is the goal.

34. CURRENT ISSUES Compensation
Profit sharing
Distributes portion of profits to employees
Gain sharing
Distributes portion of cost savings to employees
Stock options
Right to purchase stock at a fixed price in the future
Again, increased motivation is the goal.

35. CURRENT ISSUES Benefits
Fringe benefits
Non-monetary compensation
Health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off
Family friendly benefits
Help employees balance work, personal and family life
Flexible benefits
Employees personalize benefits within a set allowance or dollar amount
Employee assistance programs
Help employees cope with personal stress and problems
Benefits rank high in worker satisfaction, but the cost of many benefits, especially healthcare, are increasing.

36. Labor unions Labor contracts Deal with employers on worker’s behalf
CURRENT ISSUES Labor
Labor unions
Deal with employers on worker’s behalf
Labor contracts
Agreement between employees and employer
Wages
Hours
Benefits
Working conditions
Seniority
Union membership as a whole has been decreasing for many years.

37. Collective bargaining
CURRENT ISSUES Labor
Collective bargaining
Process that brings management and union representatives together for negotiating, administering and interpreting labor contracts
Worker’s rights to join a union without fear of reprisal by employers was established by the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also called the Wagner Act.
Many labor laws regulate the tactics that are used by management and labor.