University of Forthare Human Resource Management Pad 211[1]

Lecture Guide; Human Resource Management

Academic Year; 2013

A Lecture Delivered By;

Antony Matemba Sambumbu; STTD (Lumko College of Education, FDE (University of Orange Free State), BED with Hons (Rhodes University), MPA(University of Forthare), and DAdmin (University of Forthare)

Lecture 1 General Concepts in Human Resources Management

The foundation of modern human resources theories is found in the William F Taylor’s (1916) scientific management theory. Taylor (1916) argued that;

• Other than threatening employees with dismissal, the best way to improve efficiency, employee and general organizational productivity is to devise strategies through which employees can be perfectly fitted with the assigned jobs.

• This can be achieved if the job is analyzed in order to determine the expected performance standards for the methods and time that are necessary to complete each assigned task.

• In other words, this rendered the determining and the allocation of tasks between employees possible.

Despite the fact Taylor was generally speaking about how to effectively manage the accomplishment of the organisation’s activities, his theory provided an essential highlight on the importance of human resources management in organizations.

However, in modern organizations, the roles that are performed by the human resource managers still differ from the ones executed by the personnel managers.

Human Resource Management and Personnel Management

Human resource management; deals with the long term strategic development of HRM policies and implementation, in order to ensure that the human resources are effectively and efficiently utilized to achieve the desired strategic organizational objectives and goals.

Achieving this means that human resource management processes must be channeled towards creating a fit between the human resources strategy and the organizational strategy.

In addition to strategy formulation and implementation, the human resource management also performs planning functions which involve;

• External and Internal environmental evaluations • Forecasting • Assessments of human resources’ excesses and surpluses • Recruitment • Job allocations • Pay and remunerations • Performance management and appraisal • Employee training and development • Managing and regulating employment relations within the organization.

Personnel Management; on the other hand personnel management involves the performance of daily HR administrative tasks and duties, as well as the implementations of HR plans, strategies and policies which are drawn by human resource management.

The commonly performed administrative tasks include;

• Advertising vacancies • Conducting interviews • Induction • Managing salaries and remuneration • Arbitration and Resolving disputes • The enforcement of company policies, regulations and rules

Generally personnel management deals with the managing of minor HR activities, as compared to the human resource management roles which are usually more complex.

However, the performances of all these personnel management activities are accomplished under the oversight of the human resource management. It is in that regard that human resource management is regarded as wider and encompasses personnel management.

“People are our most valuable asset” Discuss A consensus exists among human resource managers, consultants and experts that the organization’s human resources are the most valuable assets because human resources are the main contributors to the organization’s;

• Productivity • Profitability • Improving service quality • Improving customers’ satisfactions

• Improving competitive advantage

Nevertheless, the ability to achieve these benefits implies that;

• Organisations must carefully recruit and select the appropriate employees • Jobs must be carefully designed • Training and development are constantly undertaken • Employees are properly motivated • There is top management support • There is communication; vertically and horizontally • Performance must be constantly evaluated and monitored.

Despite the fact that it is well recognized that all these strategies determine the extent to which the organisation’s human resources are effectively utilized, studies reveal that actual organizational practices have proved that few organizations recognize that human resources are the most valuable assets.

Explain the reasons why human resource management has become of importance in modern organizations The following are the reasons why human resource management is important in modern organizations;

• Constantly changing variables in the external and internal business environment • Increasing competitive market place; competitive labour market means that

organizations must devise appropriate human resource retention strategies and the increasing inter-‐organisation competition implies that organizations must devise strategies to get the best out of their human resources.

• The need to create strategic fit between human resource strategies and other functional departments as well as the general organizational strategies. This is because each of the organisation’s functional departments have different objectives, plans and strategies, and therefore creating a congruence is of paramount importance.

• The need to effectively manage human resources’ differences in order to create an effective general organizational culture.

In order to outwit these challenges, the HRM department must be appropriately positioned in the organization.

Position and Structure of HRM in Organisations The HRM Department’s responsibilities can be classified into three; individual, organizational development and career management areas.

Individual Management This involves aiding employees;

• Identifying their strengths and weaknesses • Correcting shortcomings • To make the best contribution to the organization

Organisational development This deals determining how human and other resources can be maximized as part of the total organizational strategy.

Nonetheless, the details of the position and structure of HRM in the organization are as illustrated in Figure 1

Figure 1; The Position and Structure of HRM in the Organization

Executive Management

Human Resource Department

Finance and Accounting Department

Production Department

Marketing Department

LOWER LEVEL EMPLOYEES

External Business Environment




Explanations Figure 1 illustrates the following;

The devising of the human resource strategy and plans are not only done after the assessments of the internal environment, but also the organisation’s business environment.

During strategy formulation and planning, the HRM department is not only consulted, but also usually the Executive Manager HR, sits on the board of executives in order to ensure that the organisation’s strategy and planning process is ingrained with HRM strategy.

Subsequently, the HRM Department ensures that such strategies and plans are implemented at all levels and functional departments of the organization by interacting and controlling activities in all these levels and functions.

Generally, activities which are executed by HRM constitute the core and the backbone of most of the organisation’s activities. In other words, HRM is involved in most of the organization’s activities due to the fact that 99% of the organisation’s activities are accomplished by employees.

The Four Components of Human Resources Management Figure 2; The Four Components of Human Resources Management

The followings are the four components of human resources management;

Environment Organisation

Job Employee

Fit

Explanations It is illustrated in Figure 2 that the successful human resource management and general organizational performance are determined by the exit at which the human resource management process is able to create a strategic fit between the four components. These components are; Environment, Organisation, Job and Employee. The details are outlined below.

Environment This refers to the surroundings within which the organization exists and operates. The organizational business environment is divided into three; micro, macro and market environments.

Micro-‐Environment The micro-‐ environment refers to the surroundings which are internal to the company. Usually the changes in the micro-‐environment can be controlled by the organisation’s management.

Macro-‐Environment Refers to the surroundings which are external to the organization, and usually comprises of uncontrollable variables. Nonetheless, the company’s survival in case of volatile changes is determined by the management’s ability to apply strategies which can outwit the posed challenges. The major variables in the macro-‐environment are;

• Political factors • Economical factors • Technological Factors • Social Factors • Global Factors

Market Environment This comprises of following forces or factors;

• Competition • Threats of new entrants • Exist barriers • Changes in laws and regulations

Organization This is the second component and it is defined as;

• Comprising of a group of people working together • Under defined set of objectives and goals • Defined structure and division of labour • Defined rules and regulations • Defined system and well coordinated processes

Employees Comprise the third component which must be considered during human resource management, and usually comprise of people with different;

• Abilities • Qualifications • Beliefs and Values • Personalities

Job This refers to the fourth component and is determined by;

• Depth • Variety • Autonomy • Challenge

The changing field of HRM In recent years, the HRM field has undergone a number of changes and tremendous transformations due to the following;

• Technological changes have affected work patterns and relationships, as well as how work is accomplished.

• Organisational structural changes; in that organisational philosophies now prefer flatter structures to taller ones.

• Increasing market globalization; has made orgnaisations demand higher performance from their employees.

Management Approaches to HRM The followings are the three approaches in human resources management;

Functional Approach Argues that the effective human resource management and organizational performance are determined by how the human resource department is also to advise, help and influence other functional departments to employ appropriate human resources and to work towards the achievement of the outlined general organizational goals and objectives.

In order to achieve this, it stresses that human resource managers must perform;

• A service function; this deals with recruitment, selection, remuneration and employee training.

• A Control function; concerns the analysis of labour turnover, productivity, absenteeism and resignations.

• An advisory function; liaise and advise other functional departments on HR matters

Systems Approach It is important to understand the definition of a system, before the systems approach can be examined.

What is a system? A system refers to a number of interdependent components that form a whole and work together with a view to attaining a common goal.

Types of systems There are two main types of systems; closed and open systems

• Closed Systems; This refers to the forms of systems which are not influenced by the variables in the external business environment.

In other words, in a closed system, there is no interaction between the system and its external business environment.

• Open Systems; In these kinds of systems there are intense interactions between the system and its external business environment.

In a nutshell the system influences its environment and the environment vis-‐à-‐vis influences the system.

The details of the components in an open system are illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3; The Components of an Open System

As demonstrated in Figure 3, the organization obtains its inputs from the environment which are subsequently processed and poured as output into the environment. This affects the variables in the external business environment and influences the activities of other organizations which must also consider such changes by considering these changes as its inputs when making decisions. The decisions made in consideration of such changes result into outputs which also affect the later variables in the external business environment. In other words, the process is cyclical.

Two important considerations in Systems Theory From this illustration, it can be denoted that the systems theory stresses two important considerations. These are;

Input Transformational Process Output

Environment

• The survival of the organization depends on its ability to adapt to the demands of its environment

• In order to meet these demands, the input-‐process-‐output must be the focus of managerial attention.

The application of Systems Theory or Approach in HRM In HRM, the systems approach postulates that;

• Organizations must be managed as systems comprising of different but interrelated components or sub-‐systems.

• Among these sub-‐systems is the HRM Function.

However again in HRM, a distinction must be made between the management of the individual (micro-‐system) and the management of the function (macro-‐system)

The Management of the Individual (Micro-‐System) The management of the individual (micro-‐system) is influenced by sub-‐systems encompassing;

• Goal sub-‐system; which comprises of the goals, objectives and aims of the organization

• Work-‐task system; which outlines duties and tasks of employees • Work-‐method system; deals with the flow and methods of work • People sub-‐system; concerns skills, abilities, leadership philosophy, style, and

formal and informal systems.

The Management of the Function (Macro-‐System) On the other hand, the management of the function (macro-‐system) is influenced by;

• Job content; this includes the following; § The nature of the job § Task guidelines and goals § Utilisation § Status and recognition § Development

• Job context; this refers to the situations within which tasks are accomplished and usually concerns the following;

§ Organisational culture

§ Organisational climate § Management philosophy § Leadership Style § Structures § Personal policy § Working conditions § Interpersonal and group relations

• External environment; deals with matters encompassing; § Labour market conditions § Level of education § Economic conditions § National Human Conditions § Unionism § Employment diversity and equity

Efficiency Approach The efficiency approach argues that the successfulness of an organization is determined by the extent to which it consistently meets its goals, and these are usually divided into three; Long Term, Medium Term and Short Term Goals.

• Long Term Goals; are usually formulated by the top management and the main focus is usually to enable the organization adapt to the changes in the economy.

• Medium Term Goals; These are formulated by the middle management and usually do not only seek to bridge the gap between long term and short term goals, but also determines how the achievement of the long term goals can be possible.

• Short Term Goals; are formulated by the lower management, and usually examine the matters of production efficiency, employee satisfactions and a number of other things concerning the day to day activities.

However, the efficiency theory or approach further states that the ability to achieve these goals is determined by two predictors; Efficiency and Effectiveness.

• Effectiveness; refers to the extent to which the organization is doing the right things and is able to achieve its goals.

• Efficiency; is the ability of the organization to achieve its goals using as minimal resources and time as possible.

The Concept of “Human Being” as an Employee The decision to employ a human being is influenced by the input which the organization expects the employee to provide to the organization.

However, the ability of the employee to provide such input is predicted by the personal characteristics and goals of the employee.

In order to not only ensure that the correct employee is chosen, human resource managers must during and after decision to employ constantly ensure that the individual employee’s characteristics and goals match the characteristics and goals of the organization.

The employee’s personality is one of the most important characteristics which organizations are concerned about.

This is because personality determines the individual employee’s response to situations and influences the behaviours that employees display.

Personality also has strong bearing on employee’s; emotions, attitudes, values, behaviour and mental characteristics.

At that point therefore, it is important to examine what is or isn’t personality.

What is personality? The personality refers to a relatively stable set of feelings and behaviours that have been significantly formed by genetic and environmental factors.

In other words, personality is the result of the influence of nature (genetic factors) and nurture (environmental factors).

Personality is affected by the factors that are discussed in the next sub-‐section.

The Types of Factors that affect Personality The following are the types of factors that affect personality;

• Hereditary factors • Cultural factors • Social class • Other group factors • Family relationship

All these factors shape the personality of a person who has certain expectations of life and work.

These expectations are subsequently transformed into expectations with which the person joins the organization. It is therefore at that point that our next discussions will concern the psychological contract.

What is a Psychological Contract? A psychological contract refers to the unwritten agreement between the individual employee and an organization, and specifies what each expects to give to and receive from the other.

In other words, a psychological contract represents the mutual belief, perceptions and informal obligations between an employer and an employee.

It sets the dynamics of the relationship and defines the detailed practicality of the work to be done.

A psychological contract is distinguishable from the formal written contract of employment which for the most part, only identifies mutual duties and responsibilities in a generalized form.

The key elements in a psychological contract are discussed in the next sub-‐section.

Expectations of the Employer Expectations of the Employee

Employees who accept the firm’s values and goals as their own Meaningful job Employees who execute tasks with the required degree of knowledge and innovation

Opportunity for personal development

Innovative and creative employees Challenging work Employees who are articulate and communicate more effectively

Recognition and approval for work of a high standard

Productive and well organized employees Authority and responsibility Self-‐driven, disciplined and responsible employees Friendly people and equality in

the work place Efficient and effective employees Equitable remuneration Employees who accept authority and carry out instructions Security at work Employees who interact within the social environment Promotion possibilities

The effects of a breach of a psychological contract The following are the effects of a breach of the psychological contract;

• Low employee motivation

• Low employee commitment • Declining productivity • Increasing labour turnover • Increasing absenteeism • Conflicts between management and employees

Nonetheless, theories reveal that there are a number of psychological contracts.

Types of Psychological Contracts The following are the three main types of psychological contracts;

• Coercive Contracts; the member is held in the organization against his or her will.

• Calculative Contracts; terms of a contract are clearly and specifically discussed and sometimes written by the parties to the contract.

• Co-‐operative Contracts; is formulated on the basis of mutual trust and interdependence, and sharing some broad goals and objectives between the parties to the contract.

The question as to whether the breach of a psychological contract is unethical is what is considered in the next discussions.

Ethics and Psychological Contracts Webster’s Dictionary meaning of ethics refers to it as a principle of right or good conduct.

It is regarded as the study of the general nature of morals and of specific moral choice or rules or standards governing the conduct of the members of a profession.

Acting ethically implies conducting ones’ self or making decisions which do not hurt other people, respect their dignity, individually and uniquely moral value and treat others as equally important as you.

Nevertheless, Feldheim (1999) argue that the psychological contract has two dimensions.

The Two Dimensions of a Psychological Contract The two dimensions of a psychological contract are; transactional and relational dimensions.

• Transactional Dimension/contract; This has a monetary base with clear expectations about the obligations of organizational factors to fairly compensate performance, reward appropriate behaviours and punish inappropriate ones.

• Relational Dimension/Contract; this is more complex and involves socio-‐emotional base that underlies expectations of reciprocal interpersonal caring, shared ideas, values and shared organizational identity.

As much as management is usually aware of the existence of psychological contracts, in a number of instances, psychological contracts have been violated either intentionally or unwillingly. These circumstances encompass;

• Large scale retrenchments or reduction in workforce • Cutback management • Privatisation • Contracting out services • Policy encouraging early retirement • Technological innovation which forces management to replace old skills with new

ones • New management’s disregard of old values against which behaviours were

rewarded. • Changes in job descriptions • Workplace conflicts

The ever changing and demanding variables in the organization’s external business environment depicts that the organization’s survival means that the organization must craft appropriate strategies to respond to such needs.

However, the ability to respondent to such needs will be limited, unless if the needs and expectations of the frontline employees are taken into considerations.

It is in that regard that a number of organizations have recently started to take the concept of psychological contracts quite seriously. Some of the drivers of these trends are examined in the following sub-‐section.

What has persuaded people to take psychological contracts more seriously? The following are the changes which are affecting the modern workplaces and are some of the drivers why psychological contracts are taken seriously by modern organizations;

• Nature of jobs; modern jobs are characterized by part time and temporary contracts, outsourcing, tight job definition and functional flexibility

• Organisational down sizing and de-‐layering; means employees have to carry more tasks.

• Changing technology • Changing Markets • Technology and finances; are less important for achieving competitive

advantage • Fluid traditional organizational structures; modern management are build

on teams.

Lecture 2 Human Resource Planning

Workforce Planning This refers to the process of analyzing the organization’s existing human resources or workforce and labour market in order to balance the organizations’ labour supply with demand.

However, there are a number of factors which usually influence the organization’s workforce planning process. These factors are examined in the following sub-‐section.

Factors influencing the organization’s workforce planning There are two sets of factors which can influence the organization’s HR planning process; Macro and Micro-‐Environmental Influences.

Macro-‐Environmental Influences; The macro variables which can influence the organization’s workforce planning are also known as external factors and include;

• Technological changes • Competition • Economic climate • Social climate • Political and regulatory afctors • Globalization

Micro-‐Environmental Influences; These are also referred to as internal factors and include the following;

• The image of the organization • The goals and objectives of the enterprise • Policies and procedures • Levels of productivity • Geographical location • The nature of the company

The Steps in the Human Resource Planning Process There are five steps in the human resource planning process;

Step 1; Alignment of departmental goals with the organizational goals; Analysis of whether departmental goals are aligned to the organization’s mission, vision and strategic objectives and goals.

Step 2; Analysis of current staff component; can be accomplished by;

Examining changes in labour supply and demand

Estimating labour supply by evaluating;

• Skills • Levels of education • Performance records • Future potential and service records

Step 3; Forecasting; The following techniques can be used; Delphi, Nominal-‐line managers discuss HR matters, and Unit demand forecasting.

Step 4; HR Plan is drawn and implemented; The plan must contain the following;

• Performance appraisals • Career development plans • Succession planning, compensation structures • Skills audit and expected losses due to retirement, resignation, retrenchments and

deaths.

Step 5; Monitoring and Evaluations; in order to align HR activities to the changes in the external business environment.

Why is HR planning important? The HR planning process is important because of the following;

• Enables the organization to balance labour supply with demand • Enables alignment of the departmental goals and organizational goals possible • Enables the organization to evaluate the skills and competences of its work force. • Facilitates efficiency, effectiveness and ability to achieve the desired strategic goals

and objectives.

• Enables HR and general organizational strategies to be aligned to the changes in the external business environment.

In addition to undertaking human resource planning, job design can also influence the extent to which the organization’s human resources will be effective. The details are examined below.

Job Design This is the process of dividing tasks into smaller manageable and effective units.

The end result of a job design is that the divided tasks become more specialized with similar jobs doing similar tasks.

It also involves the manipulation of the job content, tasks variety, the function of the job, work methods, coordination of responsibility, relationship and authority in the workplace.

In other words the purpose of job design is to streamline the processes through which the organisation’s activities can be accomplished in order to achieve the desired strategic objectives and goals.

However, a job design can only be considered to be effective if it has certain characteristics.

The Characteristics of an effective Job Design The following are the characteristics of an effective job design;\

• Task variety • Task identity • Task significance • Autonomy • Feedback

Hand in hand with ensuring that the job design meets the above characteristics, the different approaches for a job design must also be considered.

Approaches to Job Design The following are the approaches which can be used in a job design;

Specialised Job Design (Job Simplification) This is the process of designing jobs around few repetitive tasks that require few skills and little mental ability.

Advantages The specialized job design may result into the following advantages;

• Results into requiring less skilled employees • Enhanced activities’ control • Consistent good quality production • Increasing productivity • Need for cheaper and simpler training • Increasing responsibility of individual employees for the assigned tasks.

Disadvantages The following are the disadvantages which are associated with the specialized job design;

• Boredom due to monotony may result. • Lack of variety may affect the job satisfaction • Stress arising from repetitive tasks may result into job dissatisfactions

Job Range Design Is the process of increasing the number of tasks which must be included in a particular job.

This is usually accomplished by using one or a combination of the following techniques;

• Job rotation; provide the employee with different tasks to perform by changing him or her from one job to another

• Job enlargement; increase the number of tasks performed. • Job enrichment (Job depth design); increase the degree of responsibility and

authority within the job.

• Team-‐based job design; encourage the creation of self-‐managed teams to decide on how tasks must be accomplished whilst basing on specific team goals.

Organizational Design A poorly designed organization may also affect the employees’ effectiveness. In order to avoid falling into such a trap, managers must constantly look for the following symptoms of a poor organizational design;

• Excess personnel • Tolerance of incompetence • Cumbersome administrative processes • Disproportionate staff power • Scarcity of clear goals and decision making • Fear and embarrassment • Loss of effective communication • Outdated organizational structure • Resistance to change • Low morale • Specialised interest group being more vocal • Decreased innovation

Avoiding these means the organization must consider the following;

• Hierarchical structures either centralized or decentralized • Span of control • Level of formality of rules • Communication channels • Corporate climate and culture • Whether the organization is less bureaucratic and technologically advanced.

In addition to organizational design, job analysis must also be done during job analysis.

Job Analysis This is a systematic process of compiling a description of the skills, duties, knowledge and experience required for various jobs. It also defines the behaviours that are necessary for tasks performance.

The three concepts of job analysis There are three concepts in a job analysis;

• Job Content • Job Requirements • Job Context

Job Content (Description); this describes all the tasks and activities which must be done in a job on a daily basis. Such tasks may be narrow or broad in scope.

But essentially it must contain the following information;

• Job title • Location of the job • Reporting structure • Purpose of the job • Duties and responsibilities

Job Specification (Requirements); is the process of analyzing and determining whether employees have the necessary education, skills, experience, licences and other personal characteristics to accomplish the assigned tasks.

In other words the following can be used as the job specification checklist;

• Knowledge • Skills • Qualifications • Training • Experience

Job Context; is the description of the environment within which the tasks and activities are accomplished.

In order to render it effective, the following must be considered;

• Degree of responsibility and accountability • Working conditions • Management and employees’ attitudes • Health and safety

Why is job analysis important in modern organizations? Job analysis is important in modern organizations because it is used in the following;

• Human resources planning • Training and development • Recruitment and selection • Performance appraisals • Health and Safety Procedures • Job evaluation and remuneration • Performance management • Organisational restructuring, job design and job redesign • Labour relations

Explain the job analysis process Any effective job analysis process usually undergoes the following steps;

Step 1; Determine the reasons for job analysis; It could be due to the need to take;

• Human resource planning • Deal with job dissatisfactions, low morale and motivation • Organisational restructuring • Compensation purposes

Step 2; Determine the job analysis methods; The following are the common job analysis techniques or methods;

• Interviews; can be either structured or unstructured • Observation • Questionnaires • Critical Incident Technique; only critical and important activities are examined in

order to assess the explanations for other variables.

As much as job analysis has been establish to impact positively on the general organizational performance, in a number of instances its effectiveness has been limited by the factors discussed in the next sub-‐section.

Hindrances of Job Analysis Studies reveal that job analysis can be hindered by the following factors;

• Lack of top management support • Only one method is used for data gathering • Lack of supervisor and jobholder participation • No training for jobholders • No motivation for jobholders • Insufficient time to complete the job analysis • Normal flow of activities may be distorted • Failure to critique the job • Employee fear • Lack of update of the gathered information

Recruitment of New Employees Recruitment is the process of attracting applicants who comply with the requirement of the position to be filled, and matching the behaviour and ability of the best possible candidate with the behaviour and ability required for the position and shifting through potential candidates who will contribute successfully towards the goal of the department or organization.

Recruitment can be influenced by a number of factors, and these are discussed below.

Factors influencing recruitment There are two sets of factors that can influence recruitment; External and Internal Factors.

External factors The following are the external factors which can influence recruitment;

• Government and trade union restrictions • Labour market conditions and economy • Supply and demand • Political-‐Social-‐Legal Environment • Unemployment rate • Competitors

Internal Factors The following internal factors can influence the organisation’s recruitment process;

• Image of the company • Organizational policies • Human resource planning • Size of the firm • Recruitment policy and procedures • Costs • Growth and expansion • Potential employees’ profile

The Recruitment Process The following are the steps in the recruitment process;

• Determine the need for recruitment • Consult the recruitment policy • Obtain budget approval • Ensure the job description and person specification are current • Choose the recruitment source • Decide on the recruitment method and apply the recruitment method • Allow sufficient time for response • Screen responses and applications • Draw up an initial shortlist of candidates • Keep applicants informed of the progress

Sources of Recruitment There are two sources of recruitment; internal and external sources of recruitment.

Internal Sources of Recruitment The following are the internal sources of recruitment;

• Current employees • Referrals from current employees • Former employees

Advantages of the internal sources of recruitment • Provides greater motivation for good performance • Provides promotion opportunities • Provides opportunity to assess abilities • Improves morale and organizational loyalty • Enables the employee to perform the new job with little lost time

Disadvantages of the internal sources of recruitment • Creates inbreeding and stale ideas • Creates political infighting and pressure to compete • Requires a strong management development programme • Creates a homogeneous workforce

External Sources of Recruitment The external recruitment sources encompass;

• Advertisements • Employment agencies • Educational institutions • Professional organizations • Customers • Walk-‐ins • Direct mail • Headhunting • E-‐recruitment

Advantages of the external sources of recruitment • Provides new ideas and insights

• The existing organizational hierarchy remains unchanged • Provides greater diversity

Disadvantages of the External sources of recruitment • Loss of time due to adjustments • Present employees cease to strive for promotions • Individuals may not be able to fit in with the rest of the organization

Selection This is the process of choosing the most suitable applicant after sifting through all the applications.

However, there are certain macro and micro variables which can influence the selection process.

External Factors The external variables which can influence selection are;

• Legal considerations • Nature of the labour market

Internal Factors The internal variables which can influence selection are;

• Size of the organization • Type of the organization • Speed of decision-‐making within the organization • Costs which are associated with selection • Abilities of selection staff • Applicant pool to select candidates from • Selection instruments or tools and criteria

The typical steps in the selection process The following are the steps which must be taken during the selection process;

Step 1; Initial screening to eliminate unsuccessful applicants

Step 2; Application forms must be requested and studied

Step 3; Interviews can be used to determine the candidate’s suitability; Interviews can be; structural behavioural interviews

• Semi-‐structured patterned interviews • Unstructured patterned interviews • Biographical interviews • Technical interviews • Competency interviews • Stress interviews • Group interviews • Panel interviews

Step 4; Conduct Reference Checks

Step 5; Medical checks in order to determine whether a candidate qualifies for the physical requirements of the job

Step 6; Make the appointment

Orientation and Induction This is the process of getting the new employee to acclimatize into the new job that he is appointed to. It involves;

• Assimilating the new employee • Promoting new employee productivity • Reducing absenteeism and staff turnover • Creating realistic employee expectations • Saving time • Preparing employees for further training • Anticipating and answering new questions

The importance of orientation and induction The following are the importance of orientation and induction in modern organizations;

• Reduces reality shock and cognitive dissonance • Increases job satisfaction

• Alleviates employee anxieties • Creates positive work values • Improves relationships with managers and subordinates

The Steps in the Orientation and Induction Process The following are the steps in the orientation and induction process;

• Stage 1; Plan and prepare for the prospective employee • Stage 2; Provide general company and departmental information, rules, guidelines

and policies. • Stage 3; Settling in or socialization.

Performance Management This is a cyclical process which is undertaken in order to determine whether the way the organization’s activities are being accomplished will lead to the achievement of the desired strategic organizational goals and objectives.

Importance of performance management Performance management is important in modern organizations because it;

• Provides clear guidelines and direction • Improves employee and management relationships • Improves communication within the organization • Helps link performance to rewards • Provides standards for evaluating performance • Induces the atmosphere of trust

Conditions for the successful implementation of performance management The followings are the conditions which must exist in order to have performance management successfully implemented;

• Relevant and clear standards • Clear goals and objectives

• Top management commitment • Employee participation • Free from contamination of factors outside the employees’ control • Reliable and objective measurement tools and techniques • Non-‐discriminative • Acceptable by managers and employees • Legal compliance with relevant laws

The principles of performance management The essential principles of performance management encompass;

• Establish measureable goals and objectives • Compare current behaviours with behavioural goals • Bring actual behaviours with the expected goals • Constantly monitor progress

The process of performance management The performance management process usually encompasses;

Performance planning; this entails establishing goals and objectives, and;

• Aligning with business strategy • Aligning with departmental goals • Determining employees’ goals to add value • Defining parameters of an action plan

Performance coaching; is the second step in the performance management process and involves;

• Manager intervening to give feedback and adjust performance • Interim checking of progress • Exploring causes of poor performance • Counseling and mentoring

Performance appraisal; is where the individual performance is formally documented and feedback delivered, and this deals with;

• Measuring performance

• Determining the amount of value added • Allocating results of evaluation to HR systems • Reviewing new business strategy, and departmental and employee goals

Factors explaining the reasons for performance problems The following are the reasons for performance problems;

• Personal problems such as alcoholism, divorce and depression • Job no longer interesting or challenging • Lack of transparency • Fear of failure • Lack of desire to contribute more energy • Downturn in the economy • Failure to revise knowledge in the job • Poor time management • Uncertainty of what to do to succeed • Poor management • Job insecurity

In order to circumvent these, managers need to display the characteristics of managers who can manage performance more effectively.

Characteristics of effective performance managers The following are the essential characteristics of managers who can manage performance more effectively;

• Explores the causes of performance problems. • Direct attention to causes of problems. • Develop action plans and empower workers to reach solutions. • Emphasize non-‐threatening communication.

Performance Appraisal A significant part of performance management is accomplished through performance appraisal.

Performance appraisal is a personnel management function which is done in order to determine whether employees are accomplishing their tasks more effectively.

The essential components of performance appraisal The essential elements of performance appraisal include;

• Identification of performance dimensions • Fair and accurate judgment • Measurement of performance and rating as good or bad • Recording the performance appraisal process outcome • Development and future improvement of the employee

The objectives of performance appraisal The following are objectives;

• Administrative purposes. • Development purposes. • Organization purposes.

The advantages of performance appraisal The following are the advantages which are usually associated with performance appraisal;

• Helps integrates all HR functions • Aids HR planning and assessment of skills inventory • Improves job satisfaction • Provides basis for dismissal, transfers and retrenchment • Tests effectiveness of recruitment, selection and training • Provides job security • Promotes communication • Prevents errors • Identifies individual employee strengths and weaknesses • Assesses employees’ applicability to career development • Identifies personal problems which may affect performance

Methods of performance appraisal techniques The methods for performance appraisal usually encompass;

Relative judgment; the performance of the employee is measured in relation to the performance of other employees.

The common techniques are;

• Forced ranking; employees are rated by ranking them from best to worst. • Forced distribution; it determines whether the employee meets or exceeds or

falls short of expectations or performance factors.

Absolute judgment; evaluations and judgments are solely based on the employee’s performance.

The common techniques include;

Graphic rating scales; the characteristics relating to a specific job and behaviour or performance are rated from exceptional to poor.

The elements which are included in the graphic rating scale are;

• Quantity of work • Knowledge of work • Personal qualities • Co-‐operation • Dependability • Initiative

Other Evaluation Skills In addition to the above other evaluation skills are;

• Immediate supervisor • Peer assessment • Subordinates • Self-‐appraisal • Client appraisal • Team appraisal • 360 Degree (Multi-‐Trait-‐Rater Approach); employee, manager, peers and customers

rate performance • Balanced Scorecard Approach examines performance on four perspectives;

financial, customer, internal business processes and employee learning and growth.

The two perspectives to performance evaluation There are the two perspectives on performance evaluation; rational approach and political approach.

Relational Approach This ensures that;

• Accuracy is the goal of appraisal • EEs and supervisors are passive participants in the process • Appraisal focuses on measurement • Performance of a worker should be clearly defined • Assessments are based on specific behaviours that are observed

Political Approach The political approach ensures that;

• Utility is the goal of appraisal • Supervisors and workers are motivated participants in the measurement process • Appraisal focuses on management • What is being assessed is left ambiguous • Appropriate assessment of specific behaviours follows the overall assessment.

Performance rating biasness Despite the fact that performance appraisal has been established to lead to improving organizational performance, in a number of instances its effectiveness has been limited by the following factors;

• Leniency and severity • Central tendency • Recency • Halo effect • Unclear standards.

Compensation Management This is the process of determining how employees must be rewarded for the tasks done. It is related to performance management, in that if performance is satisfactory, employees expect to be rewarded and if not done so it can lead to dissatisfactions, low morale and commitment.

In order to assess whether employees will be satisfied with the reward, Ivancevich and Matteson (2002:197) argued that the following must be considered;

• The difference between how is received and how much the employee expected to get

• Extent of comparison with what happens to others • How satisfied are employees with the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards • Difference in the rewards the employees desire • Some rewards are satisfying because they lead to other rewards

The objectives of compensation management systems The following are the objectives of a compensation management system;

• Attracting quality and skilled staff • Retaining well qualified and skilled staff • Promoting better qualified staff • Ensuring consistency and equity • Emphasizing performance • Rewarding good performance and motivating staff • Encouraging workers to be productive • Encouraging initiative, creativity and innovation • Encouraging workers to move up the organizational structure • Complying with legislations • Maintaining cost effectiveness • Improving efficiency and effectiveness • Improving employee retention • Achieving a fit between the organizational culture, objective, processes and

employees • Encouraging people centered management approach • Adapting to change

Factors influencing the compensation decision The compensation decision can be influenced by the following factors;

• The economy • Labour supply and demand • Unions • Legislations and policies • Organizational strategy • Job related determinants; skills, competencies, working conditions, pressure, degree

of effort and complexity of tasks performed. • Individual determinants; performance and experience levels, length of service,

potential for promotion, personal preferences and needs.

Developing a compensation system The process for developing a compensation system usually encompasses the following;

• Job analysis • Job evaluation • Establish a pay policy

Different reward systems Organizations may provide rewards encompassing;

• Direct compensation • Incentives • Fringe benefits • Employee benefits • Other direct compensation • Value chain compensation • Knowledge-‐based compensation • Competency-‐based compensation • Performance-‐related compensation • Variable-‐based compensation

Lecture 3 Training and Employee Development

How is education as a concept distinct from training as a concept? Education; refers to the long term deliberate, systematic and sustained efforts which are intended to transmit, evoke or acquire knowledge, attitude, values, skills, sensibilities and any other learning that results from such a process whether intended or unintended.

Training; on the other hand deals with short term activities which are aimed at providing individuals with specific knowledge, skills or abilities that can be applied immediately towards the improvement of their work performances.

Why is training in important in modern organizations? In modern organizations, training has been considered to be important because of the reasons which are outlined below;

• Encourages a culture of learning • Facilitates the achievement of long terms goals of developing knowledge, skills and

behaviours of employees • Facilitates the development of human capital • Facilitates the adoption of new technology

• Improves decision making and problem solving • Leads to employee recognition and growth • Helps with stress handling • Increases job satisfactions • Improves knowledge, communication skills and attitudes • Leads to improving better service and bolstered competitive advantage • Leads to improving morale of the employees • Better corporate image • Helps keep costs down • Enables the organization to adjust to changes

Types of training Organisations can use two types of training;

• Off-‐the-‐job training • On-‐the-‐job training

What is development? This refers to the process whereby managers obtain the necessary experience, skills and attitudes to become or remain successful leaders in their organizations.

The managerial approach to training In organizations, training is usually managed according to the following processes;

• Planning • Organising • Leading • Controlling

The Training Model or Process’ The prescribed training model or process usually follows the steps encompassing;

Step 1; Identify training needs and objectives; This may require that the organization examines the following;

• Organisational analysis • Demographic analysis • Task analysis • Person analysis

In addition training needs analysis methods encompassing the following may be used;

• Interviews • Focus Groups discussions • Administration of questionnaires • Document analysis • Observation

Step 2; Apply successful training techniques and principles; This involves selecting;

• The appropriate training venue • Training facilities • Communication equipments • Choosing well qualified and knowledgeable facilitators • Devising strategies through which facilitators and learners can be motivated and

influenced.

Step 3; Calculate results

Step 4; Conduct ongoing assessments and evaluations

Career Management This is the process through which the employee or the organization analyses the employee’s current situation in terms of skills, knowledge, competence and job experience and devises strategies or channels through which the employee in the course of employment can achieve his or her personal goals of progressing from lower to the higher organizational hierarchy. It usually involves processes encompassing;

• Working with individuals in the organization in order to develop their career plan and career management strategy.

• Developing or reviewing the organization’s plan of succession and corresponding career development and career management strategy.

• Assisting management and HR to identify individuals within the organization and to integrate them into the career development and career management strategy.

• Matching individual career development and organizational HRM strategy.

In addition to these, the responsibilities of three categories of persons must be engaged;

• The organisation’s responsibility • The employee’s immediate supervisor • Individual employee.

Why should organizations implement career management? The following are the reasons why organizations must implement career management;

• Enhances retention of very skilful employees • Enables employees to align their individual goals with the organizational goals • Leads to improving efficiency, effectiveness, productivity and competitive

advantage. • Globalisation has led to increasing competition • New generations of employees require greater control over their career paths • Constant changes in technology and customers’ demands.

Career Planning Refers to the process by which the individual employee analyses his work situation, specifies his career goals and plans various means to achieve these goals.

Career planning is an ongoing process because of;

• Continuous changes in the markets • Rapid technological developments • Employer’s reactions to these changes • Changes in personal needs and circumstances • Active participation in the world of work • Personal ambition • Opportunities increase with the newly acquired skills

Career planning can be done by an individual or organization, and as for the individual, steps encompassing the following must be used;

• Undertake self-‐assessments • Explore career options • Set career goals

What is career development? This is a process which examines how individuals manage their careers within and between organizations, and how organizations structure the career progress of their members. It can also be used in succession planning within the organization.

Career Development Methods The following methods can be used in career development;

• Performance appraisals • Career counseling • Workshops • Tailor-‐made materials • Management-‐by-‐objectives

A five step strategy towards career management Besides using the above methods, organizations can also use a framework encompassing the following five steps;

• Step 1; Match the goals of the individuals with the goals of the organization • Step 2; Link career development with the human resources department and

management. • Step 3; Link career development with environmental trends and analysis • Step 4; Have regular communications between the employer and employee • Step 5; The employer’s responsibilities in effective career development for

employees.

Explain the difference between Mentoring and Coaching in Career management Coaching; refers to the form of tutoring or instructing which encourages skills development in order to achieve immediate performance improvement.

Mentoring; on the other hand refers to the long term acquisition of skills in developing a career through a form of advising and counseling.

Mentors normally use methods encompassing; exposure of the new employee to different experience, reflection and modeling.

In other words, whereas coaching is a short term performance improvement initiative, mentoring is a long term development process.

Coaches instruct and mentors counsel, and whereas mentoring is relational, coaching is functional.

What are the roles of mentors? The following are the roles of mentors;

• Providing sound ideas and plans for career development. • Counseling, providing insight and guidance to the mentee. • Inspiring and motivating the mentee.

What are the essential characteristics of coaching? The following are the essential characteristics of mentoring;

• Managers coach their staff as a required part of the job • Coaching takes place within the confines of a formal manager-‐employee relationship • The focus of coaching is to develop individuals within their current jobs • The interest of the relationship is functional, arising out of the need for individuals

to perform the tasks required to the best of their ability • Managers tend to initiate and drive the relationship • The relationship is finite, and ending when an individual has learned what coaching

is teaching.

What are the characteristics of mentoring? The following are the essential characteristics of mentoring;

• It occurs outside the line manager-‐employee relationship and at the mutual consent of a mentor and mentee.

• It focuses on the career and professional development of the employee which may sometimes be outside a mentee’s area of work.

• The relationship is personal in that the mentor provides all kinds of career support. • Relationships may be initiated by mentors or created through matches initiated by

the organization. • Relationships cross job boundaries. • The process may last for a specific time duration.

What are the benefits of mentoring? The following are the benefits of mentoring?

• Individual coaching may develop and refine highly successful leadership skills • Skill-‐based communication and political skills may lead to the desired specific

outcomes • It facilitates personal goal setting and personal accountability for goal attainment • It leads to image enhancement and professional polishing • It enhances leadership and career development, as well as problem solving. • The mentee can gain from the enormous mentor’s experience • It leads to receiving critical feedback in areas encompassing; communications,

interpersonal relationships, technical abilities, change management and leadership skills.

• It enhances networking with key and influential people • It improves the gaining of knowledge about the organisation’s culture and unspoken

rules.

Lecture 4 The Impact of Labour Laws on Employment Relationships in South Africa

Introduction In the midst of the increasing globalization, a country’s employment policies and laws are influenced by domestic policies and international factors.

In terms of the international factors, the South African employment laws and policies are influenced and protected by the International Labour Organisations.

This is due to the fact that South Africa subscribes to the membership of the United Nations and is a signatory to the ILO’s employment policies.

Nonetheless, since 1994, the South African labour market has undergone significant transformations which are aimed at reducing inequalities in workplaces.

Among the results of these transformations were the promulgation of the;

• 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa • Labour Relations Act (LRA) • Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) • The Employment Equity Act (EEA) • The Skills Development Act (SDA)

These laws have had significant impacts on employment in South Africa, and in the sub-‐sections following the details of these laws and their impacts are evaluated.

The Constitution and Government Policy The Constitution outlines a set of rights, regulations and rules on how a country’s affairs must be governed.

It is the supreme law of the country from which other laws or legislations are formulated.

In other words, any law or legislation which is inconsistent to the constitutional provisions is rendered null and void, inoperative and ineffective by virtue of that inconsistency.

On that basis, all labour laws are formulated and promulgated in accordance with the constitutional provision.

In the South African context, the 1996 Constitution provides guidelines on how labour laws must be formulated. In the next section, these guidelines are examined.

The Constitutional Guidelines on Employment Relations in South Africa It is embedded under Section 23 of the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa that every employee has the right to;

• Fair labour practices • Form and join a trade union • Form, join and/or participate in the activities of the employer’s organization • Trade unions and Employer’s organizations have the rights to determine their won

activities • Trade unions and Employer’s organizations have the rights to engage in collective

bargaining.

These are the guidelines which influence the contents of labour laws and employment activities in South Africa, and the same concept is further illustrated in the levels of labour law in South Africa.

The Levels of Labour Law in South Africa Labour laws in South Africa are aligned to the following hierarchy;

• Constitution. • Labour Relations Act and agreements or determinations controlled by the Act. • Basic Condition of Employment Act. • Contracts of Employment. • Common Law.

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act, No. 75 Of 1997 The purpose of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act is to advance economic development and social justice by establishing and enforcing basic conditions of employment.

In other words, the Act seeks to harmonise relationships between employees and employers by striking a balance between the fact that labour laws must not stifle economic growth and development, and at the same time organizational practices must not infringe on the employees’ rights.

The Application of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, No. 75 of 1997 The Act applies to all employers in South Africa, save for the categories who are expressly excluded. The categories who are expressly excluded are;

• The South African National Defence Force. • The National Intelligence Agency. • The South African Secret Service. • Unpaid volunteers at Charities. • Persons employed on vessels at Sea. • Senior managerial employees. • Self staff who travel to customers and regulate their own working hours. • Employees working less than 24 hours a month. • Independent Contractors. • Employees earning more than R149 736 per year. • Those employed for a period longer than 4 months and work atleast four days per

week are entitled to family responsibility leave.

The Main Provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, No. 75 of 1997 The following have been provided in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, No. 75 of 1997;

(A) Work Time and Rules This prescribes for;

Ordinary hours at work

• A maximum of 45 hours per week • Those working five days a week, a maximum of 9 hours a day, and six days a week, 8

hours a day.

Overtime

• Not allowed, except on agreement • Must be compensated at the rate of one and a half times the employee’s normal

wage • Maximum 12 hours per day, and can be increased to 15 per week, but cannot go on

for a period more than 12 months.

Extended ordinary daily hours of work

• Allowed, but the accumulation must not exceed the 45 ordinary hours per week and 5 hours overtime per week.

Meal Intervals

• 60 minutes after five hours of work or 30 minutes on agreement. • When required to stay on premises the meal must be paid for.

Daily and weekly rest period

• A period not less than 12 hours between ending and starting work • Must have 36 consecutive hours per week of rest, and one must include a Sunday

unless if agreed otherwise • Can choose to have longer period of rest, 36 hours, only once every week • Sunday work must be paid at the rate of one and a half times the normal wage

Sunday work and public holidays

• Double for work on public holidays

Emergency work

• Limits on working hours, meal intervals and rest periods do not prevent performance of emergency work.

Annual Leave

• Entitled to 21 consecutive day’s leave with full pay per year, and falls to 1 day’s leave for every 17 days of work

• Day (s) must be added to compensate every public holidays falling during the leave period

• If employment ended, the annual leave owed must be paid to him

Sick Leave

• Entitled to 6 weeks’ leave for every 36 months of employment • 1 day for every 26 days worked, if still in the first 6 months of employment • Medical certificate required if employee absent for more than 2 days. • Sick leave cannot be at the same time as the annual leave

Maternity Leave

• Must be granted 4 weeks before labour • Cannot commence work within 6 weeks after delivery, but employee can do it

voluntarily on Doctor’s approval. • 6 weeks for miscarriage

Family Responsibility Leave

• Only for employees who have worked for 4 months are entitled to three days’ FRL • Cannot be carried over to the next year or to another member

(B) Payment of Remuneration and Deductions • Must pay as agreed, and can deduct only on consent of the employee or as required

to do so by; • Law. • Collective agreement, court order. • Arbitration award. • If employee proves in due and fair process that the employee was at fault.

• Employee can agree in writing deduct a specified debt.

(C) Termination of Employment Section 37-‐ Only on notice of not less than;

• 1 week for 6 months of employment • 2 weeks for more than 6 months but less than a year • 4 weeks for a year and more, or in case of a farm or domestic worker employed for

more than 6 months. • These notice periods cannot be reduced by any agreement, though under Section

37(2)(b) through collective agreement the 4 weeks can be reduced to not less than 2 weeks.

• Notice period imposed on the employee must equally apply on the employee • Notice must be writing, unless if the employee is illiterate • Notice cannot be given during any leave period, except for sick leave.

Administrative Obligations

Under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, No. 75 of 1997, the employer must;

• Give in writing the minister’s prescribed particulars of employment on commencement of employment

• Keep these particulars for 4 years after the termination of employment. • Provide information on remuneration, deductions and time worked • Display a statement of employees rights under the Act • Employee entitled to a certificate of service after the termination of employment

Children and forced labour

• Children under 18 cannot do work inappropriate to their age or that places them at risk

• No employment of a child under the age of 15

Variations of Basic Conditions of Employment

• A collective agreement by a bargaining council or between employers’ organization and trade union can replace or exclude any basic condition of employment

• Bargaining council agreement overrides collective agreement and collective agreements override individual agreements

• Core employees’ rights cannot be changed by a bargaining council agreement.

Other Collective Agreements

These may include;

• Averaging hours of work • Family responsibility leave • Deductions from wages • Shorter notice period • Removal of the labour inspector’s ability to issue compliance order, if collective

agreement chooses arbitration • Overtime, weekly rest periods, Sunday work and sick pay.

The Employment Equity Act, No. 55 of 1998 This Act was promulgated to promote equal opportunity and fair treatment

Aims

The aims of the Employment Equity Act, No. 55 of 1998 are to;

• Promote constitutional right of equality and the exercise of true democracy • Eliminate employment’s unfair discrimination • Ensure employment equity’s implementation, so as to reduce discrimination effects • Encourage diversity • Promote economic growth and development • Promote SA’s compliance with the ILO’s obligations.

The Purpose and Scope of the Employment Equity Act, No. 55 of 1998

• Promote fair treatment and equal opportunity through application of affirmative action

• Encourage affirmative action in order to redress the disadvantaged groups.

Designated groups as mentioned in the Act are; • Blacks (African, Coloureds and Indians, and recently Chinese) • Women • People with disabilities

Designated employers are those who employ; • 50 or more • Less than 50 but turnover equals or exceeds the prescribed turnover • Employer appointed by a collective agreement • Municipalities • Organs of the state

What is Discrimination? According to the Employment Equity Act, No. 55 of 1998, discrimination is an act of segregating or unfairly treating certain individuals or groups on grounds of race, gender and disability.

It also includes defining the inherent requirement of a job in a manner which segregates certain persons or groups.

What is unfair discrimination? Is the act which goes beyond the inherent requirement of a job and includes discrimination based on;

• Race • Gender • Religion • Age • Culture • Sexual orientation • Marital status

• Belief • Political opinion • Pregnancy • Social origin • Disability • Status • Language • Birth of individuals

What is fair discrimination? Is the process of excluding an individual whilst basing on the inherent requirements which are essential for the tasks performance.

What is affirmative action? Is a process or a business strategy which is aimed at transforming socio-‐economic environments which have excluded individuals from disadvantaged groups in order for such disadvantaged individuals to gain access to opportunities based on their potential.

In other words, it is the purposeful and planned placement or development of competent or potentially competent persons in or to positions from which they were debarred in the past, so as to redress past disadvantages and to render the work force as more representative of the population, either on a local or national level.

The Labour Relations Act, No. 66 of 1995 • It is the centerpiece of all labour laws, in that all labour laws are subordinate to the

LRA. • Promotes constitutional rights of trade unions and collective bargaining. • Regulates strikes and lockout. • Workforce forums and alternative dispute resolutions. • It establishes and regulates the; • Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). • Labour Courts.

• Labour Appeal Courts.

The purpose, scope and application of the Act Advance economic development, social justice, labour peace and democratization of the workplace by fulfilling the following primary objectives.

LRA ‘s Primary Objectives The following are the primary objectives of LRA;

• Fair labour practices. • Form, join and participate in activities of trade unions. • Form, join and participate in the activities of employers’ organizations. • Ensure independence and autonomy of trade unions and employers’ organizations. • Facilitate collective bargaining between trade unions and employers’ organization.

Scope of LRA Applies to all employment relationships and makes no distinction whether it is in the private or public sector.

But does not apply to the;

• South African National Defence Force. • The National Intelligence Agency. • The South African Secret Service. • Independent Contractors.

What is the difference between an employee and the independent contractor? Employee

• Supervised • Renders personal services • Works until contract terminates on death, breach or expiry of the contractual period

• Provided with tools • Given duties and instructed by employer • Paid fixed salary • Subject to discipline of the employer • Protected by labour legislation

Independent Contractor

• Equal and not subordinate to employer • Performs specific work to achieve specific outcome • Employed on contract that can be terminated by breach, completion of task or

consent • Uses own tools and equipments • Paid in accordance with hours worked • Not subject to discipline by employer • Not protected by labour legislation • Works any hours that suits him • Allowed to enter into as many contracts as he wants • Not supervised on a day to day basis

Major individual and collective labour law issues which are addressed in the LRA The following are the major individual and collective labour law issues which are addressed in the LRA;

Collective labour law issues; these include;

(a)Freedom of association and general protections

which encourages;

• Protection of employees and persons seeking employment • Protection of employees’ rights • Rights to form, join and participate in the trade union and employers’ organisations’

activities

(b) Organisational Rights; encompasses;

Trade union access to workplace

Leave for trade union activities

Disclosure of information, but precludes;

• legally privileged • disclosure in contravention of the law • confidential information • private and personal information

Notice of trade union’s intention to exercise its rights

Collective Bargaining This is promoted in the LRA, and covers;

Collective agreement

Is made between 1 or more registered trade unions or employers’ organizations.

Legally it binds all the parties to the contract.

An agency shop agreement

Is the agreement requiring the employer to deduct agency fee from salaries of members and non-‐members.

In order for it to be valid, it must meet requirements encompassing;

• Trade union must be registered • Trade union must represent a majority • Non-‐members must not be compelled to become members • Deducted amounts must be paid into the administered trade union account • Non-‐members must not pay more than the agency fees for members

What is a closed shop? This refers to a form of collective agreement between the trade union and employer’s organisation’s representative, requiring every employee who is covered by the agreement to be registered as members of the union.

Nonetheless, it must meet the following requirements in order for it to be valid;

A two-‐third majority in favour of the agreement

Union dues must be used to advance the socio-‐economic matters.

The process in the collective agreement The following steps must be followed in a collective agreement;

• Dispute about the interpretation or application of collective agreement • Agreed conciliation/agreed procedure inoperative or its operation is frustrated by a

party/no agreed procedure • Commission • Conciliation • Failure to resolve • Arbitration • Award

Strikes and Lockouts Strikes and lockouts are legal if;

• Dispute referred to a council or CCMA. • A certificate of failure to resolve the dispute is issued. • 30 elapsed since referral. • 48 hours written notice given to council, employer and employers’ organization. • 48 hours notice of lockout given to trade union, workers and council.

Workers’ Rights Protected strike workers may not;

• Be dismissed • Have civil action brought against them

Workers’ Rights • Do not have to pay workers • May dismiss a worker for misconduct • Nonetheless after the strike the employer may recover monetary value or payment

in kind in labour court

• During lockout, employers may not; • Bring civil action. • Recover the payment in kind in labour court.

Special Procedure for Bargain A strike can be held after the advisory award is made

When strike or lockout procedures do not apply

• Members follow procedures in the council’s constitution • Follows a collective agreement procedure • Strike is in response to an illegal lockout • Lockout in response to an illegal strike • One sidedly change workers’ conditions and refuse to restore them

When strikes and lockouts are illegal

• A collective agreement or arbitration binds the parties • Referral is to be made for arbitration or labour court • A wage determination binds parties if less than one year old • Parties are providing an essential or maintenance service

Labourt Court Action

If strike or lockouts are illegal, must be referred to Labour Court for grant of interdict or a restraining order.

Secondary strikes

Are held support of the strikes by other workers, and cannot be held if;

• Referral made to a council. • Workers work within the registered scope of the council. • Workers have material interest in the dispute. • If 7 days’ notice is not given to the employer.

Protest Action

This is the deliberate or partial refusal to work in support of the socio-‐economic interests of workers, but not for the purposes outlined in the definition of a strike.

Picketing

• Done to peacefully support a legal strike or to oppose a lockout. • Held in public access areas or inside employer’s premises. • Parties or CCMA must agree on picketing riles. • Any dispute on picketing rights can be referred to the CCMA.

Records Kept by Employer

• Can keep records of details of strikes, lockout, protest actions and picketing. • Must be in accordance with the requirements of collective agreements, arbitration

award and wage Act determination. • Records must be kept for atleast three years. • Must submit copies when requested by the; bargaining council, commissioner and

any dispute resolution agent.

Work forum

• To promote the interest of all employees, irrespective of whether or not they are members of a trade union.

• Excludes senior management • Enhance workplace efficiency • Be consulted by employer on; e.g wage, retrenchments, merging, job grading. • Jointly participate on decisions regarding setting up grievance and disciplinary

procedures.

Dispute

Every collective agreement must include a process for dispute resolution.

Any party disagreeing on how to apply a collective agreement must refer for;

• Conciliation • CCMA • Arbitration

But all parties must receive copies opf any written referrals.

Bargaining Council

Formed by trade unions and employers’ organizations, and deal with;

• Collective agreements. • Solve labour disputes.

• Establish various schemes.e.g dispute resolution fund. • Make proposals on labour policies and laws.

Dispute Resolution Attempts must be made to resolve disputes at the lowest levels possible.

Nonetheless resolutions can be done through;

Internal company procedures

CCMA Section 115 prescribes that the CCMA must;

• Resolve dispute in terms of the LRA through conciliation • If conciliation fails, arbitration, and that is only of the Act require arbitration. • Regulate the right of any party to be represented in either conciliation or

arbitration. • Regulate circumstances for charging a fee in relation to any conciliation or

arbitration proceedings. • Assist workplace forum establishment • Enable commissioner make any order on any arbitration costs.

The CCMA’s Advisory and Training Functions

• Collective bargaining structures • Workplace forum’s establishment and its functioning • Disciplinary procedures • Dismissal procedures • Restructuring the workplace • Affirmative action • Sexual harassment

Labour Court Has superiority and powers equal to the court of a provincial division of the High Court.

The Labour Appeal Court

All appeals against judgments by Labour Court can be made to the Labour Appeal Court.

Lecture 7 Quality Assurance in Human Resource Management

What is Quality Assurance? Quality assurance refers to a systems engineering discipline which embodies the process of quality control, art of inspection, management philosophy, policies and oversight procedures that instill understanding, integration of individual objectives and supportiveness of quality at all levels of the organization. Quality assurance is determined by four important aspects.

The four important aspects of quality assurance The following are the four important aspects of quality assurance;

• The existence of elements such as; job management, sufficient processes, criteria for performance, identification of records and integrity criteria.

• Qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience • Organisational culture, confidence, motivation and quality relationships • The organizational infrastructure

Since the organizational culture is one of the important aspects in quality assurance, in the next section the organizational culture and how it influences activities and quality assurance in the organization will be examined.

What is Organisational Culture? Culture generally refers to a system of shared beliefs, norms, values and background of members of a group.

Organizational culture on the other hand refers to a set of norms, beliefs, values, and expectations of how activities must be accomplished within the organization.

Types of Organizational Culture There are two main types of organizational culture; closed organizational culture and open organizational culture.

Closed Organizational Culture The closed organizational culture is characterized by the following;

• Little or no authority is delegated to the lower levels. • Narrow span of control. • Performance standards are set by management. • Employees receive no support from managers. • Workers are dissatisfied with working conditions. • Little communication between levels of authority or departments.

Open Organizational Culture The open organizational culture is characterized by the following;

• Teams and groups take part in decision-‐making. • Authority is delegated to lower management. • Workers develop through training. • Workers are motivated. • Workers are more committed, loyal and positive. • Open and free flowing communication channels.

Why is organizational culture important? The organizational culture is important because of the following;

• Creates corporate identity • Employees, shareholders and other stakeholders can identify themselves with the

organization

• Acts as guidelines for evaluating and determining unacceptable behaviours and rewarding appropriate behaviours.

• Creates social and emotional stability • Interpreting and understanding organizational culture is an important activity for

managers and consultants because it affects strategic development, productivity and learning at all levels.

However, the organizational culture may also negatively affect the organizational performance, since;

• New skilful employees may fail to cope up • May stifle creativity • Can delay processes and affect service quality • Can be the cause of conflicts • Can deter the implementation of strategic changes

In order to ensure that the organizational culture facilitates the achievement of the desired organizational strategic objectives and goals, managers must use a combination of methods. These methods are discussed below.

Methods for developing a cohesive organizational culture The following are the methods for developing a cohesive organizational culture;

Develop a sense of history; this involves;

• Elaborating on history • Communications about and by heroes

Create a sense of oneness; this concerns;

• Leadership and role modeling • Communicating norms and values

Promote a sense of membership; entails;

• Reward systems • Career management • Recruiting • Socializing of new staff member • Training and development

Increase exchange among members; concerns;

• Member contacts • Participative decision-‐making • Inter-‐group co-‐ordination • Personal exchange

Generally a consensus exists among quality assurance experts that corporate culture if well tuned can enhance the organization’s quality assurance processes and initiatives. However, besides culture, the organization’s leadership also plays a significant role in enhancing quality assurance.

The importance of the organization’s leadership The following explains why leadership is important in organizations;

• Leadership influences the organization’s activities. • Leadership plays a role in shaping the corporate culture. • Leadership provides guidance on how activities must be accomplished.

Quality Assurance; From Product to Service Quality in the manufacturing sector is quite easier to establish as compared to quality in the service sector.

In the service sector quality is determined only by how customers perceive the service. In other words, quality is met if customers’ expectations are met by their perceptions after the consumption of the product.

However, the challenge is that a service which is perceived by one customer to be of good quality may be considered of poor quality by another customer.

It is in that regard that Zeithmal et al. (1990) stated that there are three differences that distinguish service quality from quality in manufacturing;

• Service quality is more difficult to evaluate than manufacturing quality. • Service delivery and service outcome happen at the same time • In service delivery, only quality is judged by customers.

In order to achieve the organizational quality objectives, HRM must align all its activities with the organization’s quality initiatives. In the next sections, these HRM activities are examined.

Lecture 7 Application of Change Management Strategies

Change management; is the structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. However, studies reveal that in modern organizations, the need for change driven by factors encompassing;

• Globalisation • Increasing competition • Economic slow down • Ever demanding and dissatisfied customers • Increasing technological change and innovation

In order to sail thorough these pressures successfully, organizations need to devise and adopt new ways, processes and systems of doing business.

However, without the devise of accompanying change management strategies, such initiatives are unlikely to be successful.

Reasons for failure of organizational changes Despite attempts to change, most organizations have usually failed due to the following reasons;

• Poor senior management support • Absence of change champion • Poor project management skills • Resting hope on a one dimension solution • Political infighting and turf wars • Poorly defined organizational objectives • Change team diverted to other projects • Poor leadership • Lack of strategic direction

• Failure to constantly monitor and evaluate whether change is been successfully implemented

Forms of Change • Planned Change; Decision by management. • Unplanned Change; arises from unforeseen circumstances.

Types of change which must be undertaken • Developmental; enhances or corrects existing aspects of the organization. • Transitional; seeks to achieve a desired state which is different from the existing

state. • Transformational; results into the organization that significantly differs in terms

of structure, processes, culture and strategy.

Planned Versus Emergent Change Emergent changes arise in two ways;

• Implications arising from management decisions result into the need to change the way certain things are done.

• External environmental factors.

Strategies for managing these changes • Explore implications arising from management decisions. • Understand that organizational change is a process.

Episodic Change Versus Continuous Change • Episodic change; is infrequent, discontinuous and intentional; E.g the

replacement of one strategy or programme with another. • Continuous change; is incremental and continuous. E.g employees constantly

adapting and editing new ideas that they acquire from different sources. • Distinguishing episodic and continuous change is important for defining the future

of the organization.

Scope of Change • Incremental change; is a very small change. E.g modification of a work

procedure.

• Strategic change; is change on a larger scale, e.g organizational restructuring. • Transformational change; the organization moves to a new or different state.

Resistance to change • Reasons for Employee Resistance • Lack of understanding around the vision or need for change • Comfort with the status quo and fear of the unknown. • Corporate history and culture • Opposition to the new technologies, requirements and processes introduced by the

change • Fear of job loss.

Reasons for Managers’ Resistance to Change • Loss of power and control. • Overload of current tasks, pressures of daily activities and limited resources. • Lack of skills and experience needed to manage the change effectively. • Fear of job loss. • Disagreement with the new way. • Fear of public criticisms. • Skepticisms about the need for change.

Managing Resistance to Change Identify resistive symptoms. These are;

• A staff meeting everyone agrees to utilize new procedures, but weeks later the procedures are not changed.

• New computers are introduced after the demands from staff, but later no one is using them

• Employee agrees before the manager to change job responsibilities, but in actual practice does the opposite.

Steps leaders must take when faced with resistance to change. These are;

• Seek out employees’ thoughts. • Listen carefully and do not give lengthy explanations. • Encourage dialogue.

• Involve others.

The techniques to get employees involved and committed. These are;

• Determine who must be involved in planning change and include them in the decision-‐making process.

• Involve employees from all levels • Consult employees from areas affected by change • Provide realistic timeframes for specific actions • Run a test programme with a selected team and solicit for feedback. • Publicly recognize any employee whose suggestions are used in the change process • Design a system encouraging ongoing feedback through the change process.

The Use of Communication in a Change Process • Participation. • Guarantee that no one will be disadvantaged. • Counselling. • Reward.

Characteristics of organizations that successfully manage change The following are the characteristics of organizations that successfully manage change;

• Open discussions and accessibility to information and data • Clear expressed visions at all levels • Emphasise interdependence and worth of every body • Clear goals and performance expectations • Commitment to learning, improving and personal growth • Concern for measurable results whenever possible • Curiosity to try new methods, experiment and accept failures

Tips for overcoming resistance to change • Devote time and energy to weakening the most powerful restraining forces • Apply the identified drivers of change to either weaken or eliminate opposing force • Provide fiercest resisters with rewards • Get customers or suppliers to explain to change resisters

• Put resisters in decision-‐making positions in the change process • Attempt to look the world in the eyes of change resisters

Examples of Inappropriate Change Management • Resisted because of failures in the way it is introduced. • Failure to explain need for change. • Insufficient information. • Failure to consult, negotiate, and offer support and training. • Lack of involvement in the process. • Failure to build trust and sense of security. • Poor employee relations.

Why change should be welcomed;

• Change can produce positive benefits for the individual. • Opportunities for personal change and development. • Provides a new challenge. • Reduces work boredom. • Opportunity to participate and shape outcome.

Leadership and Change • Detect trends in the macro-‐environment as well as micro-‐environment. • Identify if there is need for change, and initiate the change programme. • Assess the impact that change will have on employee behaviour patterns, work

processes, technological requirements and motivation. • Assess the employees’ reactions and craft change programme that will provide

support as workers go through the programme. • Propgramme must be implemented and disseminated throughout the organization. • It must be monitored and evaluated.

Responsibility for Managing Change Employees do not manage change, but managers and leaders must manage in the way that employees can cope.

A Model for Managing Change This prescribed change management model outlines critical steps and processes that the change management process must follow. These are;

Forces for change

• External • Markets • Technology • Social and political • Internal

Performance Outcomes

• Organisational • Group • Individual

Diagnosis of the Problem

• Information • Participation • Change agent

Selection of Appropriate Method

• Structural • Task and techgnological • Human asset

Impediments and Limiting Conditions

• Resistance to change • Leadership climate • Formal organization • Organizational culture

Implementation of the Method

• Timing • Scope • Experimentation

Programme Evaluation

• Feedback • Adjustment • Revision • Reinforcement

Strategic Management Strategic management is the art and science of formulating, implementing and evaluating cross-‐functional decisions that will enable an organization to achieve its objectives.

It is the process of specifying the organisation’s objectives, developing policies and plans to achieve these objectives.

It also involves the allocation of resources, and the combining of the activities of different departments in order to ensure that not only a coherency is achieved, but also that such a coherency is likely bolster the accomplishment of activities in the which facilitate the achievement of the desired strategic goals and objectives.

It is an ongoing process and its main objective is usually to outwit competitive forces.

It usually follows the processes which are examined in the next section.

Developing a Strategy

The steps in the strategy developing process encompass;

Understand the Environment; This involves;

• Environmental scanning • Scenario planning • Engagement of the external stakeholders

Understand the Organisation; This involves;

• Engagement of employees at all levels in the planning process • Designing service delivery strategy

• Tie to resource allocation and performance management

Identify Corporate Values; This may involve;

• Analysis of public sector values • Analysis of private sector values

The features of Strategic Management The following are the essential features of strategic management;

• Examines the full scope of activities including corporate objectives and organizational boundaries

• Match organisation’s activities to the environment in which it operates • Ensuring that internal structures, practices and procedures enable the organization

to achieve its objectives • Match the organisation’s activities to its resource capability. • Undertakes acquisition, disinvestment and re-‐allocation of resources. • Translating the complex and dynamic set of external and internal variables which an

organization faces into a structured set of clear future objectives which can be implemented on a day to day basis.

Strategic planning as part of the change management Strategic planning provides the direction which the organization must follow in order to render the achievement of the desired strategic goals and objectives possible.

It also continuously evaluates in order to determine whether all activities are aligned to prescribed plans and strategies.

It is aligned to change management in that it influences the way activities are accomplished.

In other words, strategic management may introduce new structures, processes and systems through which activities can be effectively accomplished.

Basing these arguments, it can be construed that it is part of the change management process.

Change and Quality Management Adopts of new quality initiatives means that the organisation’s must change.

This indicates that the implementation of a quality strategy must be accompanied with the application of appropriate change management strategies.

University of Forthare Human Resource Management Pad 211[1]

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