Human Resources

Module 8

LIS 580: Spring 2006

Instructor- Michael Crandall

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 2

Roadmap

• The Human Resources environment

• The Human Resources management process

• Recruiting

• Interviewing

• Training

• Disciplining

• Legal and ethical concerns

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Human Resources (HR) Management

• Human Resources (HR) Management– The management function devoted to

acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating employees.

• Strategic Human Resource Management– The linking of the human resource function

with the company’s strategies to accomplish that strategy.

G.Dessler, 2003

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WorkUSA 2002 & Malden Mills

• WorkUSA 2002 study showed:– Trust levels dropping within organizations– HR functions emphasizing effectiveness of

employees key to increased trust.– Less than half of employees say businesses

manage changes well.– Communication is miserable, especially related to

pay.– Employees don’t get linkage between corporate

strategy and their jobs.– Linkage of performance rewards to business goals

is not effective.• How is Malden Mills different?

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The Human Resources Management Environment

Prentice Hall, 2002

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The Basic HR Process

FIGURE 9–1G.Dessler, 2003

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Personnel Planning

• The process by which management ensures it has the right number and kinds of people in the right places at the right time, who are capable of helping the organization achieve its goals

• Steps in the planning process:1. Assessing current human resources

2. Assessing future human resources needs and developing a program to meet those needs

Prentice Hall, 2002

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Steps in the Recruitment andSelection (staffing) Process

FIGURE 9–2G.Dessler, 2003

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FIGURE 9–5

Management Personnel Replacement Chart

G.Dessler, 2003

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Writing Job Descriptions And Recruiting Employees

• Staffing– Filling a firm’s open positions; also, the

personnel process that includes six steps: • job analysis • personnel planning• recruiting• interviewing• testing and selection• training and development

G.Dessler, 2003

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Job Analysis

• Job Analysis– The procedure used to determine the duties of

particular jobs and the kinds of people (in terms of skills and experience) who should be hired for them.

• Job Specification– The human qualifications in terms of traits, skills,

and experiences required to accomplish a job.

• Job Description– A document that identifies a particular job, provides

a brief job summary, and lists specific responsibilities and duties of the job.

G.Dessler, 2003

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Checklist 9.1Job Analysis Questions

What is the job being performed?

What are the major duties of your position? What exactly do you do?

What are the education, experience, skill, and [where applicable] certification and licensing requirements?

In what activities do you participate now?

What are the job’s responsibilities and duties?

What are the basic accountabilities or performance standards that typify your work?

G.Dessler, 2003

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Checklist 9.1 (cont’d)Job Analysis Questions

What are your responsibilities? What are the environmental and

working conditions involved? What are the job’s physical demands?

Its emotional and mental demands? What are the health and safety

conditions? Does the job expose you to any

hazards or unusual working conditions?

G.Dessler, 2003

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Employee Recruiting

• Recruiting– Attracting a pool of viable job applicants.

G.Dessler, 2003

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Sources of Recruits

• Current employees• Advertising• The Internet• Employment agencies

– Public– Private

• Contingent workers and temporary help agencies

• Executive recruiters• Employee referrals• Walk-ins

• College recruiting• Recruiting for a

diverse workforce

G.Dessler, 2003

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Testing for Employee Selection

• Uses of Tests– Reliability (repeatability of test results)– Validity (measures what it purports to measure)

• Types of Tests– Intelligence– Mechanical comprehension– Personality and interests– Ability/achievement (current

capabilities/knowledge)– Aptitude (performance potential)– Management assessment center

G.Dessler, 2003

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Conducting Effective Interviews

• Plan the interview

• Structure the interview

• Establish rapport

• Ask effective questions

• Delay your decision

• Close the interview

G.Dessler, 2003

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Guidelines for Interviewees

• Prepare

• Make a good first impression

• Uncover the interviewer’s needs

• Relate your answers to the interviewer’s needs

• Think before answering

• Watch your nonverbal behavior

G.Dessler, 2003

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Potential Biases in Interviews

• Prior knowledge about the applicant will bias the interviewer’s evaluation

• The interviewer tends to hold a stereotype of what represents a good applicant

• The interviewer tends to favor applicants who share his or her own attitudes

• The order in which applicants are interviewed will influence evaluations

• The order in which information is elicited during the interview will influence evaluations

Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 20

Potential Biases in Interviews(cont’d)

• Negative information is given unduly high weight• The interviewer may make a decision concerning the

applicant’s suitability within the first four or five minutes of the interview

• The interviewer may forget much of the interview’s content within minutes after its conclusion

• The interview is most valid in determining an applicant’s intelligence, level of motivation, and interpersonal skills

• Structured and well-organized interviews are more reliable than unstructured and unorganized ones

Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 21

Orienting Employees

• Orientation– The introduction of a new employee to the

job and the organization

• Objectives of orientation– To reduce the initial anxiety all new

employees feel as they begin a new job– To familiarize new employees with the job,

the work unit, and the organization as a whole

– To facilitate the outsider–insider transition

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Training Employees

• Training Program– The process of providing new employees

with information they need to do their jobs satisfactorily.

• Training Program Steps– Needs analysis– Instructional design– Validation– Implementation– Evaluation and follow-up

G.Dessler, 2003

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Employee Training

• What and Why?– Changing skills, knowledge, attitudes, or behavior.– Changing what employees know, how they work; or their

attitudes toward their jobs, co-workers, managers, and the organization

• On-the-Job Training Methods– Job rotation– Understudy assignments

• Off-the-Job Training Methods– Classroom lectures– Films and videos– Simulation exercises– Vestibule training

Prentice Hall, 2002

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Determining if Training Is Needed

Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 25

Performance Managementand Measurement

• Performance management system– A process of establishing performance standards

and evaluating performance in order to arrive at objective human resource decisions and to provide documentation to support personnel actions

• Adjective rating scales– Rating an individual on each job performance

factor on an incremental scale

• 360-degree appraisal– An appraisal device that seeks feedback from a

variety of sources for the person being ratedPrentice Hall, 2002

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Performance Managementand Measurement (cont.)

• Group-order ranking– Requires the evaluator to place employees into a particular

classification such as “top fifth” or “second fifth”• Individual ranking approach

– Requires the evaluator merely to list the employees in order from highest to lowest

• Paired comparison approach– Each employee is compared with every other employee in

the comparison group and rated as either the superior or weaker member of the pair

– Each employee is assigned a summary ranking based on the number of superior scores achieved

• MBO– Employees are evaluated by how well they accomplish a

specific set of objectives determined to be critical in the successful completion of their jobs

Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 27

FIGURE 9–13

Performance Appraisal Form

Source: Gary Dessler, Human Resource Management, 9th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2000), p.90. G.Dessler, 2003

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Checklist 9.5How to Conduct the Appraisal Interview

Prepare for the interview.

Be direct and specific.

Don’t get personal.

Encourage the person to talk.

Don’t tiptoe around.

G.Dessler, 2003

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When Performance Falls Short

• Performance impediments– Mismatched skills– Inadequate training– Employee’s personal problems

• Discipline– Actions taken by a manager to enforce an

organization’s standards and regulations

• Employee counseling– A process designed to help employees

overcome performance-related problemsPrentice Hall, 2002

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Jack Stack and Scott Berkun

• What does Stack point out about the problems with most performance reviews?

• How does he use his reviews to help his staff improve performance?

• Stack is a CEO, reviewing high-level directors. How do you think his approach would work at lower levels of the organization?

• He doesn’t file any paperwork or other documentation. Do you see any issues with this in the long term?

• What does Berkun see as the main job of a manager?• How does Berkun’s advice compare with Stack’s

approach?

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Compensation And Benefits

• Compensation administration– Determining a cost-effective pay structure that will

attract and retain competent employees, provide an incentive for them to work hard, and ensure that pay levels will be perceived as fair

• Factors influencing pay levels– Employee’s job– Kind of business– Environment surrounding the job– Geographic location– Employee performance levels and seniority

Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 32

Types of Employee Benefits

• Social Security• Workers’ and unemployment

compensations• Paid time off from work• Life and disability insurance• Retirement programs• Health insurance• Non-financial rewards designed to

enrich employees’ livesPrentice Hall, 2002

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Discipline and Grievances

• FRACT Model– A multi-step procedure for assessing the

need for discipline:• Get the Facts• Find the Reason• Audit the records• Pinpoint Consequences• Identify the Type of infraction.

G.Dessler, 2003

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Discipline and Grievances (cont’d)

• Discipline without Punishment– A multistage disciplinary technique that uses oral

reminders of the violated rule; then written reminders; followed by a paid one-day leave; and finally, if the behavior is not corrected, dismissal.

• Grievance– A complaint that an employee

lodges against an employer, usually one regarding wages, hours, or some condition of employment, such as unfair supervisory behavior.

G.Dessler, 2003

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Checklist 9.6Guidelines for Disciplining an Employee

Make sure the evidence supports the charge. Protect the employee’s due process rights. Warn the employee of the disciplinary

consequences. The rule allegedly violated should be

“reasonably related” to the efficient and safe operation of the work environment.

Fairly and adequately investigate the matter. Be sure there is substantial evidence of

misconduct.G.Dessler, 2003

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Checklist 9.6 (cont’d)Guidelines for Disciplining an Employee

Apply rules, orders, or penalties even-handedly.

Make sure the penalty is reasonably related to the misconduct and to the employee’s past work history.

Maintain the employee’s right to counsel. Don’t rob your subordinate of his or her

dignity. Remember that the burden of proof is on you. Get the facts. Don’t base your decision on

hearsay or “general impression.” Don’t act while angry.

G.Dessler, 2003

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Summary of Important Equal Employment Opportunity Legislation

• Title VII of 1964 Civil Rights Act, as amended

• Executive orders• Federal agency guidelines• Supreme court decisions:

– Griggs v. Duke Power Co., Albemarle v. Moody

• Equal Pay Act of 1967• Age Discrimination in

Employment Act of 1967• State and local laws• Vocational Rehabilitation

Act of 1973

• Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978

• Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974

• Wards Cove v. Antonio; Patterson v. McLean Credit Union

• Morton v. Wilks• Americans with Disabilities

Act of 1990• Civil Rights Act of 1991

Source: Gary Dessler, Human Resource Management, 7th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2000), p.52. G.Dessler, 2003

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Affirmative Action

• Affirmative Action– A legislated requirement that employers

make an extra effort to hire and promote those in a protected (women or minority) group.

G.Dessler, 2003

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Improving Workforce Diversity

• Widen the recruiting net to broaden the pool of applicants

• Ensure the selection process is nondiscriminatory

• Assist new employees in assimilating into the firm’s culture

• Conduct specialized orientations and workshops for new employees

Prentice Hall, 2002

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Diversity as Policy

• What do these statistics point out about the current state of diversity in our organizations?

• Have you seen evidence of this in your own work?

• Why is marketing seen as so important in encouraging diversity? Do you agree?

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Labor–Management Relations

• Norris–LaGuardia Act– Guarantees each employee the right to bargain with

employers for union benefits.

• Wagner Act– Outlaws unfair labor practices such as employers interfering

with, restraining, or coercing employees who are exercising their legally sanctioned rights of organizing themselves into a union.

• The Taft–Hartley Act– Prohibits unfair labor practices by unions against employers

(like refusing to bargain with the employer).

• The Landrum-Griffin Act– Protects union members from unfair practices perpetrated

against them by their unions.G.Dessler, 2003

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Layoffs and Downsizing

• Layoff-survivor sickness– The set of attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of

employees who remain after involuntary staff reductions

• Dealing with the “Survivor Syndrome”– Provide opportunities for employees to talk to

counselors about their guilt, anger, and anxiety– Provide group discussions for the survivors to vent

their feelings– Implement employee participation programs such

as empowerment and self-managed work teamsPrentice Hall, 2002

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Next Time

• Guest Lecturer: Cara Wilson from Teams and Leaders– We’ll be looking at some practical cases of

organizational dynamics, and some techniques consultants use to examine and change them

– Read the assigned article for some ideas for questions, and bring your own from the past week’s readings and discussions