Introduction to Human Resource Management (HRM)

1.1 Introduction to Human Resource Management (HRM) Activity 1.1 In the organisation where you work or in a situation you are familiar with, which do you see: HRM or personnel management? Briefly support your stand with reasons. Answer: You must attempt to examine your own work setting or any other familiar setting using the framework proposed by John Storey. If there are more reasons supporting personnel management (or major areas still using personnel management practices), then clearly that organisation practises personnel management as against HRM practices. In your opinion, why should modern organisations deviate from personnel management? Give your reasons. Answer: John Storey’s framework is useful here. You can list HRM features in the framework and conclude that modern-day organisations need to have a clear vision if they are to survive whether they are in the public or private sector. Private sector firms confront competitors. Public sector organisations will be put under public scrutiny and legislatures will decide to cut their funds and close them down if they are not responsive to public needs What positive features do you observe in the practice of personnel management? Answer: You may have your own reasons. At the same time, some positive features can be seen in the following definition of personnel management: “Personnel management is that function of all enterprises which provides for effective utilisation of human resources to achieve both the objectives of the enterprise as well as the satisfaction and development of the employees.” This definition connotes that personnel management provides for human resources to be effectively utilised. Through performance management/appraisal, it attempts to achieve objectives of both the enterprise and also satisfaction of the employees. Personnel management places a strong emphasis on employee satisfaction and development. It has a procedural outlook which brings orderliness to the whole function of managing personnel. It emphasises devising clear rules and procedures. It emphasises the managerial task of monitoring and supervising personnel. In HR, all line managers are responsible for handling personnel. In personnel management scenarios, managers are personnel specialists or IR specialists. They thus confer in-depth professional knowledge of the personnel function. Many argue that it is “old wine in new bottles” meaning that HRM is the new term for old-world personnel management. 1.2 A Brief History of HRM and Its Origins Activity 1.2 Write in your own words how HRM has evolved over the last fifty years. You must show that you have read about Taylorism and the human relations school of thought. You must present the concepts in your own words with little or no quoting from literature. Activity 1.3 Trace the early development of personnel responsibilities and outline the evolution of the present HR function. You must show your understanding by remembering that the personnel management function which was at the helm in the 1960s and 1970s gradually gave way to HRM. Reasons must be adduced. A discussion of how the personnel management function came into being should also be drawn from the material presented in the course material. Activity 1.4 What are the different perspectives on HRM? Outline the key factors under each perspective. 1. Historical • Discovery of a link between job satisfaction and productivity • Discrimination • International dimensions 2. Environmental • Legal examination of wages and work hours • Union relations • Collective bargaining • Rights of employees 3. Strategic • Organisation’s overall strategy • Cost advantages via lower labour costs • Need to fit human resources into the strategy implementation process • HR strategies to manage external fit and internal fit • Affective outcomes and performance outcomes • Competency management • Behaviour management 4. Political • Individual influence and group influence for gains outside the organisation’s agenda • Influence on selection, promotion, appraisal, rewards, etc. • HR decisions affected by politics • Impression management at interviews, etc. 5. International • International competition for human resources • QWL • International management practices • Managing in different cultures • Influence of culture on HR practices 6. Evaluative • Efficiency and effectiveness • Personal audits and utility analysis Activity 1.5 Do you observe key differences between personnel administration and HRM? List them. You should revisit section 1.1 and look at the key differences. The intention of this question is to reinforce your understanding of the differences between personnel administration and HRM. Summary It may not be an easy task to trace the origins of HRM. However, HRM can be seen as part of management in general and the management of employees in particular. HRM appears to have its origins in the United States in the 1950s. In the UK, HRM did not come to be recognised until the mid-1980s to the late 1980s. HRM emerged as a viable function and subject area around 1920. Hawthorne studies (Roethlisberger and Dickson 1939) had a pervasive influence and managers began to give more attention to their workers. During World War II, there was a great need to increase the productivity of the American workforce, many of whom were new recruits with no previous production experience. In post-war years, the explosion of technology has had indelible effects on the personnel administration (PA) function. Significant changes in the way human resources were recognised prompted reforms in the personnel function throughout the world in the 1970s and 1980s. The title of the department also underwent transformation " going first from “personnel administration” to “industrial relations” and then via “employee relations” to “human resources”. The term ‘human resources’ reflects the perception that employees are assets and not viewed as costs. Such elevation of HR indicated that this function was moving beyond a reactive people-problem mentality to a proactive planning and consulting mentality. By the mid-1970s, human resources of organisations began to be recognised as a key resource in their competitive efforts and well-managed companies improved the effectiveness of the HRM function to the benefit of line executives, other employees and HR practitioners. As employees began to be seen as assets rather than being perceived as costs, dramatic changes (such as the requirement of new competencies to carry out the HR function effectively, in particular) in the role and status of HR began to take place. HR can be examined in several aspects: historical, environmental, strategic, political, international and evaluation. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is defined as “the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable an organisation to achieve its objectives”. Galbraith and Nathanson recognised the need to fit human resources into the strategy implementation process. They outlined four basic HRM sub-functions or strategies: selection, appraisal, rewards and development. Of the three approaches generally used, none was found perfect. Baird and Meshoulam (1988) presented five stages of HRM growth: initiation, functional growth, controlled growth, functional integration and strategic integration. They also presented six strategic components of HRM: manager awareness, management of the function, portfolio of programmes, personnel skills, information technology and awareness of the environment. Wright and Snell (1991) referred to two types of outcomes from the system: affective outcomes and performance outcomes. Performance evaluation seems as much as selection to be an area of HRM that is influenced by politics. A sacred principle of performance evaluation is to evaluate performance itself rather than the person in the abstract. Promotion/succession systems are also subject to dynamics of political influence. The foremost challenge for firms going overseas is the need to select and train individuals who are able to work in a foreign culture. The other concern " viz., the influence of culture on HR practices " has created more awareness among academics and HR practitioners. For a firm to be competitive in today’s world, the firm’s HRM function must possess transnational characteristics in its scope, representation and processes. Two criteria are usually used to assess the value of the HRM function: efficiency and effectiveness. One popular approach to assessing the HRM function is called personnel audit which has two components: procedural audit and functional audit. The development of HRM as a body of management thought in the 1980s can be linked to a conjunction of socio-economic factors " in particular, changes in international competition, the restructuring of industrial sectors and organisations as well as the rise of a renewed confidence in the power of managers to manage. 1.3 Strategic HRM Activity 1.6 Why do you think that strategic-level managers of a company should consult HR personnel? You should be able to state reasons why the HR function is strategically important to the organisation. Strategic level managers are the top decision makers of the organisation. In fact, the HR manager should be one of them. The six key elements of SHRM are important and should hence be stated. The learning material in this course provides more information. Activity 1.7 Identify new skill areas that a future HR manager should acquire. Give reasons. Here, the learning material also provides information emanating through empirical studies. In this regard, findings of the HRPS study should be cited. The Eichinger and Ulrich study presents the seven most essential skills for HR executives in the future. Rothwell et al. (1998) also provide a direction of six leadership roles for future HR executives. The reasons that could be adduced are that the future is uncertain and the ability to envision the future is important for HR managers. Also, the HR manager has to be business-savvy and be ready to partner the top management in strategic thinking for the organisation if the strategic level of the organisation were to consult him/her. You may take each skill area and each role mentioned by Rothwell et al. (1998). State why that particular skill and role are important to the organisation. Activity 1.8 Compare the viewpoints of different authors pertaining to viewing HRM as SHRM. Examine to see whether there are common points of view. List these common views. Implementation of SHRM This question appears towards the end of this section in which strategy, HRM and organisational outcomes are discussed. In regard to overall strategy classification, the course material outlines the Miles and Snow typology which refers to four general stances a firm may take in its industry. It further provides Rumelt’s (1974) strategy classification based on the extent of product diversity in a firm. Also provided is Porter’s (1981) classification of firms into three groups. You should present the three classifications and see the similarity between the Miles and Snow typology and Porter’s classification. Our knowledge about how to integrate strategy, HRM and organisational outcomes is still limited. The reason for this limitation is that few organisations have actually successfully linked the three elements together. Managers must consider the three elements (viz., strategy, HRM and outcomes) to consider how each of them may affect the others. A fourth dimension is also critical. It concerns the employee type or level that is affected by the other three factors. The three elements along with the dimension of employee level help managers in considering the types of human resource activities related to different strategy classifications. Three approaches have been identified for implementing SHRM. However, they vary in the extent of involvement in the overall strategic management of firms. Specific contributions that HRM can make in strategy formulation have been identified. There can be involvement in the assessment of various strategic alternatives in terms of feasibility and desirability. In implementing SHRM, the new role of HRM implies not only improvement in the quality of traditional HR or personnel activities but also an expanded scope of activities. Together with traditional spheres of activity, newer responsibilities of strategic planning, management consulting and organisation development have also been included in the job scope of the HR manager. In a survey of 8,900 HR associates concerning perceived competencies for HR professionals, it was strongly suggested that three main areas of competency be acquired: functional specialisation, business knowledge and management of change. Summary Employees today are central to achieving competitive advantage. This reality has led to the emergence of the field known as strategic human resource management (SHRM). One definition of SHRM is “the linking of HRM with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organisational cultures that foster innovation and flexibility”. In other words, it is about the relationship between HRM and strategic management in the organisation. In a business, SHRM deals with the HR activities that are used to support the firm’s competitive strategy”. People need to be treated as assets and not as costs. The key levers of HR management must be internally integrated with each other and externally integrated with the business strategy. Different authors propose different approaches to HRM. All of them do emphasise the strategic nature of HRM for business success. It is common to distinguish between two influential American schools of human resource strategies (HRS). The Michigan group focuses on strategic management while the Harvard group focuses on human relations. The Michigan group developed the notion of strategic HRM while at the heart of the Harvard approach was the responsibility and capacity of managers to make decisions about the relationship between the organisation and its employees so as to maximise the organisational outcomes for key stakeholders. SHRM aims to provide a sense of direction in an often-turbulent environment so that organisational and business needs can be translated into coherent and practical policies and programmes. A review of studies shows that the HR field is on the verge of moving beyond its recently acquired responsibilities for performance consulting and business partnering to assume strategic leadership. By comparing the studies just mentioned, six key roles for HR leaders have emerged: change agent, HR strategist, business strategist, HR functional aligner, partner to general managers as well as problem solver and consultant. We must increase our understanding of the way organisations should (and perhaps do) operate. We must also examine a more comprehensive set of issues. Top managers are often required to think outside of a single discipline. Managers continually seek guidance and creative thinking on how to integrate strategy, human resource issues and organisational outcomes. Human resource practices can be either influenced (by strategy) or be influencers (of organisational outcomes). Sometimes, the selection of strategy and subsequent planning can be affected by human resource practices in the company. The strategy-HRM link is the one known most to us because strategies of firms seem to have an effect on human resource activities. HRM practices will vary according to the respective strategy’s firms pursue. However, there is one difficulty with what we know about strategy-HRM issues. We tend to believe that integrating strategy and HRM will lead to positive outcomes such as good financial performance. Unfortunately, there is very little empirical data that support such links. The HRM-outcomes link is more familiar to us than the strategy-HRM link. 1.4 Malaysian Laws Related to HRM Summary This section has discussed and deliberated on important acts and laws regarding employment, wages, the EPF, SOCSO, workmen compensation, the employment of children and young persons, unions, industrial relations, health and safety issues as well as sexual harassment in the workplace. You have learnt " Laws and regulations affect employees and employers in the workplace. Work has been regarded as a central feature of modern society since people spend much of their time at work which then determines their standard of living and their lives. As a HR student, you need to familiarise yourself with terms and conditions of work " a basic human provision that will influence the parties affected to act and behave accordingly. The Employment Act 1955 provides a number of minimum benefits for workers covered by the Act. It also dictates certain rights for both employers and employees. As employees, you have been made aware of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Act 1951 that covers aspects of monthly contributions by employers and employees towards a pension fund. Currently, employees pay 11% and employers pay 12%. The Workmen’s Compensation Act 1952 provides you with knowledge and an understanding on minimum wages and benefits for manual workers. The Employees’ Social Security Act (SOCSO) 1969 establishes an insurance system to provide financial compensation and/or assistance to employees who are involved in accidents at work and those who contract work-related diseases. The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 outlines the need to keep work environments safe and employees should be made to protect themselves from any forms of hazards. Provisions and conditions allow young workers to be employed under the Children and Young Persons (Employment) Act 1966. Only certain sectors are allowed to employ young persons and children who need parental or guardian consent to work in some sectors considered as unfit and within certain work hours. The Trade Unions Act 1959 and the Industrial Relations Act 1967 provide you an understanding on why employees join unions and how management with non-unionised workers motivate workers to stay on and be loyal to their employers. The Code of Practice for the Prevention and Eradication of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (1999) outlines the need to educate employers and employees on its definition and procedures in handling sexual harassment incidences at workplaces. It also highlights the need for employees to be made aware of the offence that misconduct of sexual harassment brings and the need to educate employees on the procedures and avenues to report sexual harassment incidences. All the above Acts originate from various departments at federal level (centralised in various ministries in Putrajaya) whose responsibilities are to review, recommend and implement laws pertaining to their respective employment provisions and these Acts are administered by those departments. Summary of Unit 1 The first part of Unit 1 introduces you to the role of human resource management (HRM) function " describing its various functions and its characteristics in an organisational setting. Managing human resources is one of the key elements in the coordination and management of work organisations. Debate in a contemporary context sees the emergence of two distinct approaches to HRM: instrumental and humanistic. Another perspective is to look at HRM as a holistic discipline that includes issues such a philosophy of personnel and industrial relations, and the central belief system is that an integrated management approach can be provided by HRM. Human resource management has brought to the fore a concern for maximising the potential of employees rather than the traditional personnel management. The emergence of HRM has also highlighted the issue of linkages between the employment relationship, wider organisational strategies and corporate policies. Criticisms of HRM reported by Legge (1989) were that a close examination of the normative models of HRM and personnel management reveals little difference between the two and that HRM contains a number of internal contradictions. Although it may not be an easy task to trace the origins of HRM, most would believe that it originated in the United States around the 1950s. In other parts of the Western world, the concept of HRM did not come to be recognised until the mid-1980s to the late 1980s. The popularity was partially credited to Hawthorne studies and post-World War II where there was a great need to increase the productivity of the American workforce, many of whom were new recruits with no previous production experience. The title of the department also underwent transformation from “personnel administration” to “human resources”. The title “human resources” reflects the perception that employees are assets and not costs. As employees began to be seen as assets rather than costs, dramatic changes (such as the requirement of new competencies to carry out the HR function effectively, in particular) in the role and status of HR began to take place. The development of HRM as a body of management thought in the 1980s can be linked to a conjunction of socio-economic factors " in particular, changes in international competition, the restructuring of industrial sectors and organisations as well as the rise of a renewed confidence in the power of managers to manage. The third part of this unit examined the strategic aspects of HRM which brought forward the concept of strategic human resource management. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is defined as “the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable an organisation to achieve its objectives”. In other words, it is about the relationship between HRM and strategic management in the organisation. In a business, SHRM deals with “those HR activities used to support the firm’s competitive strategy”. You have also learnt that it is common to distinguish between two influential American schools of human resource strategies (HRS). The Michigan group focuses on strategic management while the Harvard group focuses on human relations. SHRM aims to provide a sense of direction in an often-turbulent environment so that organisational and business needs can be translated into coherent and practical policies and programmes. Human resource practices can be either influenced (by strategy) or be influencers (of organisational outcomes). The strategy " HRM link is the one best known to us because strategies of firms seem to have an effect on human resource activities. We tend to believe that integrating strategy and HRM will lead to good outcomes (e.g., financial performance); however, there is very little empirical data that support such links. The last part of Unit 1 discussed and deliberated on the important acts and laws regarding employment, wages, EPF, SOCSO, workmen compensation, employment of children and young persons, industrial relations and sexual harassment in the workplace. A brief description of each of the legislation currently applicable in Malaysia and the system of enforcement was presented in this last section. However, the most extensive legislation in the area of human resource management is the Employment Act 1955 and the Sabah and Sarawak Labour Ordinances. The law sets minimum labour standards for workers and seeks to protect them from exploitation. The aim of Workman’s Compensation Act, like the SOCSO, is to provide protection and compensation to workers. The Children and Young Person Act is aimed at preventing the exploitation of child labour in the country. The most discussed and debated is the code of practice on the prevention and eradication of sexual harassment in the workplace, where this Code of Practice provides guidelines to employers on the establishment of in-house mechanisms at the enterprise level to prevent and eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace. 2.1 Human Resource Planning Activity 2.4 Consider your workplace and prepare a HRI. If the organisation is large, select a department and prepare a HRI for that department. Use your skill and creativity to design a form to extract information. Remember to provide for collecting information on additional skills of employees. The preparation of a human resources inventory (HRI) is very useful to any organisation. You can be creative in your approach when you design the form to elicit information and record in it every employee’s educational qualifications, professional qualifications, skills acquired, special professional training undergone, special aptitudes, etc. If the organisation is large, you should concentrate on a unit of 10 – 15 people. Summary Traditionally, staffing planning was done to reconcile an organisation’s need for human resources with the available supply of labour in the local and national labour markets. In many organisations, specialist units within personnel departments may be established to concentrate exclusively on staffing planning. In the current pursuit of HRM, many organisations appear to be replacing staffing planning with employment planning, the personnel process that attempts to provide adequate human resources to achieve future organisational objectives. All organisations perform HR or employment planning, informally or formally. The major reasons for formal HR planning are to achieve more satisfied and more developed employees as well as more effective equal employment opportunity planning. HRM theory recognises that the HR department should be an integral part and member of the business strategy-making body. As time passes, working environments change internally and externally. HR plans depend heavily on forecasts, expectations and anticipation of future events. Planning involves developing alternatives and contingency plans. A number of factors will influence what is required of forecasting to assure satisfactory future staffing. Planners have a choice of employment forecasting techniques of different levels of sophistication to focus on both the internal considerations and the external factors that influence the final outcomes of staffing plans. However, only a few organisations practise the most theoretical and statistically sophisticated techniques for planning, forecasting and tracking of employees. In staffing planning, the manager is concerned with the numerical elements of forecasting, supply-demand matching and control. HR planning is defined as a long-term, strategic planning of human resources concerned more with the development of skill, quality and cultural change than statistical numerical forecasting, succession planning and hierarchical structures. The term ‘labour market’ refers to the large number of changing influences and activities involving labour demand and supply which themselves greatly depend on economic conditions. From the organisation’s point of view, the numbers and types of employees needed during a given period reflect the relative demand for labour. The age at which people are considered to be active in the labour force varies from country to country. A variety of factors influence the labour force participation of the people. Part-time work has increased for decades. To understand the notion of part-time work, we have to draw a distinction between voluntary and involuntary part-time employees. If you are engaged in HR/ personnel activities in your organisation, you would realise that major trends in the supply and demand of labour concern you. Succession planning is a strategic activity in an organisation. As with all other plans, a succession plan can change as its determinants change. Many companies are now engaged in comprehensive career management programmes comprising the three major components: planning, development and counselling. A typical career planning process involves four major steps. Career development is the process through which action plans are implemented. It is therefore of significance for both individual and organisation as well as for human resource development. 2.2 Job Analysis and Job Design Activity 2.11 Considering your job, list the aspects of it that need to be examined in order to carry out a job analysis. Answer: You should study the learning material well and note the aspects that need to be considered in order to carry out a JA. Where your job is concerned, there may be some specific aspects that need to be considered. You must concentrate on the areas that would focus on the key result areas of the job. Activity 2.12 With reference to your organisation, what methods do you consider most appropriate to carrying out a JA? Give reasons. Activity 2.11 You should study the learning material well and note the aspects that need to be considered in order to carry out a JA. Where your job is concerned, there may be some specific aspects that need to be considered. You must concentrate on the areas that would focus on the key result areas of the job. Activity 2.18 What can be done to maintain the security of an organisation’s HRIS? Information needs HRIS security is concerned with the protection of computerised data from invasion and abuse by unauthorised personnel. To ensure employee and management confidence in an HRIS, it is important to resolve issues such as user access, data accuracy, data disclosure, employee rights of inspection and data security. Failure to do so may result in ethical, legal and employee relations problems as well as a loss of credibility of the system. The ways to maintain the security of HRIS include: • Verify that all users are properly trained in the secure use of HRIS data and software. • Ensure that all users log-off and do not leave the PC unattended. • Caution all users not to give away their password. • Recommend a change of password on a regular basis. • Ensure that all software is run through an anti-virus programme. • Monitor those who use the PC and where the hardware is located. • Ensure that any backup data files are proper controlled to prevent unauthorised users from obtaining them. • Conduct progress check to ensure that users adhere to security procedures. Summary Job analysis plays a major role in HRM activities and programmes. Jobs are a major building block of an organisation. Hence, it is essential that every characteristic of each job in an organisation is clearly understood. One of the definitions of job analysis is “a purposeful, systematic process for collecting information on the important work-related aspects of a job”. Part of the problem in defining JA stems from a difficulty we have in defining the term ‘job’. A variety of information is collected to undertake a proper JA. This information can be in the form of qualitative, verbal and narrative descriptions or quantitative measurements of each item. JA can use one or many of seven methods. Some are quick but may produce less reliable data than other methods. Others are more accurate but more costly. JA is a fundamental starting point for HR management. JA information can be used in each phase of the human resource management cycle " viz., job design, job classification and evaluation, recruitment, selection, training, performance appraisal and performance management. JA provides a range of information in regard to jobs in organisations. The information derived includes the following: job description, job specification, job classification, job evaluation, job design and performance appraisal. If job analysis is used properly, it ensures that the appraisal instrument assesses what is actually being done on the job. As much as there are benefits towards management (especially towards line management), there are also benefits of job analysis for individuals. JA involves collecting data about the job. It is a systematic process for collecting, analysing and interpreting job-related information. Conducting JA is not for amateurs. Training is required. There are numerous ways in which data can be collected. HR specialists adopt the method depending on the circumstances. In general, JA methods require the following data collection techniques: background research, performance of the job, site observations, individual interviews, group interviews and job analysis questionnaires. Summary HRIS plays an important role in managing HR data and functions. The primary purpose of an HRIS is to assist all functional managers in decision-making. Thus, an HRIS must be able to generate information that is accurate, timely and relevant to the needs of all managers. IT has created opportunities for HR to reduce administrative costs and to engage in a strategic role in achieving organisational goals. The information needs for HR data and services must be carefully assessed to develop an effective HRIS. The use of HRIS in people resourcing includes HR planning, recruitment and selection, compensation, performance management, training and development and industrial relations. An HRIS should add value to the organisation. Information generated by an HRIS should help all functional managers make faster and better decisions. Otherwise, the costs of the HRIS cannot be justified. As stated by Stone (2008), HR managers should ask the following questions when evaluating an HRIS: • Is the HRIS able to generate accurate and timely information for decision-making? • Is the HRIS integrated with payroll system and other functional areas? • Is the HRIS able to generate on-request as well as periodic detailed reports? • Are benefits of the HRIS outweighing its costs? Summary of Unit 2 Throughout the three sections of Unit 2, you have learnt that: Human resource planning is a process of anticipating and providing for the movement of people into, within, and out of an organisation. Overall, its purpose is to help HR managers deploy their human resources as effectively as possible, where and when they are needed, in order to accomplish the organisation’s goals. In other words, HR planning attempts to reconcile an organisation’s need for human resources with the available supply of labour in the local and national labour markets. All organisations perform their employment planning either informally or formally depending on their code of practice. The major reasons for a formal HR planning are to achieve more satisfied and more developed employees. HR planning depends heavily on forecasts, expectations and anticipation of future events that are going to happen (may or may not). In staffing planning, the manager is concerned about the numerical elements of forecasting, supply-demand matching and control. You have also learnt the need for succession planning where it is viewed as a strategic activity in an organisation. Many companies are now engaged in comprehensive career management programmes that enhance the human resources competencies to assist the organisation in the global marketplace. In the second part of this unit, you have been introduced to the importance of job analysis and job design which play an important role in HRM activities and programmes. In analysing the job, you have learnt to write a job description that indicates what the job involves in terms of core activities, responsibilities, authority, accountability and reporting relationship. The job is the major building block of an organisation. Part of the problem in defining job analysis stems from the difficulty we have with the term ‘job’. Job analysis is a fundamental starting point for HR management. If job analysis is used properly, it can ensure that the appraisal instrument assesses what is actually being done on the job. As much as there are benefits to management (especially to line management), there are also benefits to individuals from job analysis. Job analysts commonly combine methods of data collection to obtain a true and full picture of the job under study. There are various approaches to job analysis in getting data sources and data collection techniques. The core distinction is between work-oriented and worker-oriented methods. Work-oriented approaches include functional job analysis and critical incidents technique while worker-oriented approaches consist of position analysis questionnaire, job element method and threshold traits analysis. You have also learnt that job analysis uses a combination of techniques such as observation, interviews, questionnaires and job incumbent diaries. Job design involves structuring job elements, duties and tasks to achieve optimal performance and satisfaction. Job design was a concern of Frederick Taylor, the famous industrial engineer and father of what is called scientific management. You have also learnt that job design is an outgrowth of job analysis that improves jobs through technological and human considerations in order to enhance employee satisfaction and organisation efficiency. 3.1 Acquiring Human Resources Recruitment, Selection and Orientation Summary Recruiting is the set of activities an organisation uses to attract job candidates who possess the abilities and attitudes needed to help the organisation achieve its objectives. There are many external factors that affect recruitment. These factors include government and union restrictions, the state of the labour market, the composition of the labour force and the location of the organisation. Three factors affect the recruiting from the organisation’s viewpoint: (1) recruiting requirements (2) organisational policies and procedures; and (3) the organisation’s image. Applicants’ abilities, attitudes and preferences based on their past work experiences and influences by parents, teachers and others affect them in two ways: (1) how they set job preferences, and (2) how they go about seeking a job. In large organisations, the HR department does the recruiting while multi-purpose HR people or recruiting managers in smaller organisations recruit and interview applicants. Two sources of recruits could be used to fill any need for additional employees: (1) internal employees, or (2) outside persons (external). Organisations could adopt one of several methods to attract potential employees. The method to be adopted depends on the size of the organisation and costs involved. There are certain criteria that characterise successful recruiters. Many factors need to be taken into consideration when international recruitment has to be done. Selection takes place after recruitment is completed. The basic objective of selection is to obtain the employees who are most likely to meet the organisation’s standards of performance and being those who will be satisfied and developed on the job. Selection is influenced by environmental characteristics such as the nature of the organisation (public or private), labour market conditions, union requirements, selection ratio, government regulations and legal restrictions on selection. A number of selection methods are available for organisations. These methods include interviews, bio-data, group methods, in-trays, presentation, work simulation exercises, repertory grid technique, personality assessment and assessment centres. Although organisations try to do their best in the selection of employees, there are certain barriers. Some of the major ones include evaluative standards, perception, perceptual selectivity, stereotyping, gender issues, halo effect, projection, fairness, validity and reliability. The principal purposes of orientation is to reduce start-up costs for new employees, to reduce the fear and anxiety of new employees, to reduce turnover, to save time for supervisors and co-workers as well as to develop realistic job expectations, job satisfaction and positive attitudes towards the employer. Orientation programmes range from quite informal, primarily verbal efforts to formal schedules that supplement verbal presentations with written handouts. Formal programmes could be quite extensive in their coverage. Orientation should begin with the most relevant and immediate kinds of information and then proceed to more general organisation policies. The operating manager in smaller enterprises does all the orienting but the operating and HR managers in medium-sized or larger enterprises share this task. Having selected the new employees, the next or final phase of the orientation programme is the assignment of the new employees to their jobs. At this point, the supervisor is supposed to take over and continue the orientation. There are several approaches to evaluating the costs and benefits of orientation programmes. Developing Human Resources Learning and Development, Training and Management Development Summary There are quite a number of definitions of learning that rest on the viewpoint that the acquisition of knowledge and understanding facilitates change in perceptions and practice. In the modern world of work, employees are expected to cope with change and the emergence of new technology, assume more responsibility, become more skilled and knowledgeable, and (through it) develop the ability for problem solving and creative thinking. For all these to happen, learning and development is essential. As organisations become flatter with a greater degree of responsibility devolved to the workforce and as they also become more flexible, individual employees must be ready to accept more responsibility through a continuous process of learning how to learn. The nature of learning, the nature of the learner in relation to work and career has been discussed here in Unit 3. As changes occur in the environment, individuals at work must adapt continuously and that can be achieved only through learning which a lifelong process is. However, this is not easy as there are barriers to learning which include anxiety and lack of confidence on the part of the learner. As all employees are adults, the concept of adult learning and Knowles’ theory of adult education have been discussed. The outcomes of learning and the processes including the acquisition of new skills, competence, know-how and tacit knowledge have been discussed. Various theories and models of learning have been presented. The concept of development was examined as a process which is being demanded of employees in modern organisations. The concept of career development and continuing professional development has been dealt with in the organisational context. Organisation as a context of learning and the concept of learning organisation have also been discussed here. Although the terms ‘training’ and ‘development’ are frequently treated by some as synonymous, training is seen as both a part of and a pre-condition for development. Training has evolved as something that is provided for non-managerial workers whereas development has been treated as the preserve of management. From a HRM perspective, the connection between training and development must be regarded as highly interactive, each facilitating the other, in what may be thought of as a dialectical relationship. Training is seen as a key instrument in the implementation of HRM policies and practices " particularly those involving cultural change and the necessity of introducing new working practices. The first and most vital step in a HRD plan is to analyse the training needs of the organisation in relation to the organisation’s strategy and equate it with the need of the individuals within it. A variety of methods could be adopted to carry out a training needs analysis. Job analysis, interviews with managers and supervisor as well as performance appraisals are some methods that are commonly used. Despite the available variety of methods, an organisation has to be cautious when it selects training methods for its use. A careful use of training methods can be a very cost-effective investment. There are two major types of training: on-the-job training and off-the-job training. Depending on the situation, each can be effective in meeting certain training requirements. Implementing training programmes can be handled by training departments, training consultancies and/or line managers. Although evaluation and monitoring is one of the most important stages in the training process, it is often the most neglected or least adequately carried out part. It may look simple but it can also be complicated. Here as well, a variety of methods could be adopted. One-way management development could function is as an attempt to improve managerial effectiveness through a planned and deliberate learning process. A viewpoint highlighted in this section is that management education and training are important components in a development programme but they do not, by themselves, constitute management development. If strategic HRM is to be effectively implemented, managers must possess a set of values and attitudes that support the thinking that people are central to the success of the organisation. The notion that the managers have a right to manage the so-called managerial prerogative where a managerial elite plan, makes decisions and controls resources is fast becoming obsolete. Organising an effective management development programme (even a modest one) is no easy task and requires considerable effort. In contemporary management development, organisations are adopting and promoting a tripartite view where responsibility is shared among the personnel specialist, the boss and the individual. The effective development of managers requires the full involvement and participation of all three parties. There are several factors that need to be seriously considered in organising management development programmes. Summary of Unit 3 In the three sections of Unit 3, you have learnt that: Recruiting is the set of activities an organisation uses to attract job candidates who possess the abilities, qualifications and attitudes needed to help the organisation to achieve its objectives. In any organisation, it is the HR department that does the recruit and interview the potential applicants. Generally, there are two sources of recruitment that HR used to fill any need for additional employees: internal sources (qualified employees are available within the firms) and external sources (colleges, universities, etc). Recruitment sources are where qualified candidates are located while recruitment methods are the specific means used to attract potential employees to the firms. There are several methods to attract potential employees and the method to be adopted varies depending on the size of the organisation and costs involved. Selection is the process of choosing from a group of applicants the individual best suited for a particular position and organisation. This is usually done after recruitment is completed. The basic objective of selection is to select employees who are most likely to meet the organisation’s standards of performance, who will be satisfied with the job and can be developed on the job. Selection is said to be highly influenced by environmental characteristics (such as labour market conditions, union requirements, selection ratio, government regulations and legal restrictions, etc.). You have learnt that there are various selection methods for organisations such as interviews, bio-data, group methods, in-trays, presentation, work simulation exercises, repertory grid technique, personality assessment and assessment centres. However, the selection methods may also have its own faults such as perception, perceptual selectivity, stereotyping, gender issues, older employees, halo effect, projection, fairness, some issues in validity and reliability. Orientation provides newly hired employees with the basic information needed to do their jobs. However, the principal purpose of orientation is more than just providing basic information for new employees. It also serves as a method to reduce the fear and anxiety of new employees, to reduce turnover, to save time for supervisors and co-workers as well as to develop realistic job expectations, job satisfaction and positive attitudes towards the employer. Depending on the size of the enterprises, most of the medium-sized or larger enterprises share this task of orienting the new employees, while in smaller enterprises it is usually conducted by the operation/direct reporting supervisor. Orientation programmes may range from short, informal introductions to lengthy or formal courses that supplement verbal presentations with written handouts. Formal programmes could be quite extensive in their coverage. Orientation should begin with the most relevant and immediate kinds of information and then proceed to more general organisation policies. In the second part of this unit, you have been introduced to the importance of developing human resources through learning, training, and management development. Presently, there are quite a number of definitions of learning from different perspectives and understanding. In the present work environment, employees are expected to cope with change (i.e. emergence of new technology, taking more responsibility, be more skilled and knowledgeable) and the process of learning and development is essential for employees to keep abreast and have the necessary skills to help the organisation to meet the change. The nature of learning, the nature of the learner in relation to work and career has been discussed throughout this section. The terms ‘training’ and ‘development’ are frequently treated by some as synonymous. But in actual meaning, training is seen as both a part of and a pre-condition for development. From a HRM perspective, the connection between training and development must be regarded as highly interactive, each facilitating the other, in what may be thought of as a dialectical relationship. Human Resource Development is the first and most vital step in analysing the training needs of the organisation in relation to the organisation’s strategy and needs of the individuals within it. You have learnt that there is a variety of methods that could be adopted in training needs analysis (such as job analysis, interviews with managers and supervisors as well as performance appraisals are some methods that are commonly used). An organisation has to be cautious when it selects training methods for its use. Two major types of training (1) on-the-job training and (2) off-the-job training were discussed in this section. Most of the training programmes are handled by training departments, training consultant and/or line managers. Evaluation and monitoring is one of the most neglected or least adequately carried out parts in the training and development process. It may look simple but it could also be complicated. Here as well, a variety of methods could be adopted. Organising an effective management development programme is no easy task and it requires considerable effort. The effectiveness of management development programmes requires the full involvement and participation of all three parties (the personnel specialist, the boss and the individual). There are several factors that need to be seriously considered as discussed in the last section of this unit.