Human Resource

• the people that an organization employees to carry out various jobs, tasks, and functions in exchange for wages, salaries, and other rewards

• Wages vs Salaries

  • Wages: employees paid by the hour

    • fast food crew

    • no work, no pay

    • blue collar workers

  • Salaries: employees have a fixed day; 2x a month pay

    • white collar workers

    • finished college

Human Resource Management

• the comprehensive set of managerial activities and tasks concerned with developing and maintaining a qualified workforce in ways that contribute to organizational effectiveness

Different Managerial Activities

• 2 areas

  • Human Resource Management Area

    • Organizational Job Design: defining how tasks, authority systems will be organized and integrated across organization units and individual jobs

      • make organization more efficient and agile

      • what positions and responsibilities?

    • Human Resource Planning: determining the organization’s major human resource needs, strategies, and philosophies

    • Selection and Staffing: matching people and their career needs and capabilities with jobs and career paths

      • recruiting and choosing someone for the job

    • Human Resource Information Systems: assuring a personnel information base

      • analyzing data

    • Compensation or Benefits: assuring compensation and benefits fairness and consistency

      • Challenge: should design attractive compensation structure of a company

    • Employee Assistance: providing personal problem solving, counseling to individual employees

      • EAP: started in the US during Industrial Revolution (150s - 1960s)

        • helping employees and their families (counseling)

        • Now: needs assessment for employee’s issues

    • Union or Labor Relations: assuring health union or organizational relationships

      • collective bargaining agreement

      • leader negotiates for everyone (benefits)

      • Challenge: in between union and management

        • protecting both the employees and the organization

        • should find the balance

  • Human Resource Development Area

    • make sure that employees have growth when employed

    • Individual Development: identifying assessing and -- thought planned learning -- helping develop the key competencies (KSAOs) which enable individuals to perform current or future jobs

      • training for growth (individual)

    • Career Development: organized, planed efforts comprised of structural activities of processes which result in a mutual career plotting effort between employees and organizations

      • training for growth in career of individuals

    • Organizational Development: assuring healthy inter- and intra-unit relationship and helping groups inflate and manage change

      • macrolevel

• Human Resource Areas Outputs

  • quality work life

  • productivity

  • HR satisfaction

  • HR development

  • Readiness for change

Major HR Functions

• Training and Development

  • Competencies: pertains to all characteristics needed to be successful in performing a particular job

    • skills, knowledge, abilities, and other characteristics

• Organizational Development

• Career Development

• Human Resource Planning

• Performance Management: ensuring that organizational, departmental, and individual goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner

  • employee is observed and evaluated for performance

• Selection and Staffing

• Compensation and Benefits

• HR Information Systems

• Union Labor Relations

Responsibilities of HR Departments

• Analysis and Design of Work

  • work analysis, job design, job descriptions

• Recruitment and Selection

  • Recruiting: job postings, interviewing, testing, coordinating use of temporary labor

    • Interviewing: varies in different companies

    • Testing: advantage of psychometrician

• Training and Development

  • orientation, skills training, career development programs

• Performance Management

  • performance measures, preparation and administration of performance appraisals, discipline

    • Performance Appraisal: supervisor and managers evaluate and we make sense of the data

• Compensation and Benefits

  • wage and salary distribution, incentive pay, insurance, vacation leave administration, retirement planes, profit sharing, stock plans

    • Stock Plans: employees are part owners of the company

  • Employee Relations

    • attitude surveys, labor relations, employee handbooks, company publications, labor law compliance, relocation and outplacement services

      • Labor Law Compliance: to advise the company, must know all about the laws

• Personnel Policies

  • policy creation, policy communication

• Employee Data and Information Systems

  • record keeping, HR information systems, workplace analytics

• Compliance with Laws

  • policies to ensure lawful behavior, reporting, posting information, safety inspections, accessibility accommodations

    • Safety Inspections: each company must have at least 1 safety officer

• Support for Strategy

  • Human resource planning and forecasting, talent management, change management