Business Chapter 12 Flashcards
Human Resource Management
What is the human resource function concerned with?
Its main role should be that of strategic partner, and human resource strategies should clearly demonstrate the organizational strategy regarding people, profit and overall effectiveness
Human resource management as a strategic partner
1.Improve the skills base of employees and contribute to the profitability of the organization
2.Integration and teamwork are essential for organizational success
3.Every manager in the org should realize the importance of recruiting, selecting, training, developing, rewarding, assisting and motivating employees
The contribution of human resources to organizational effectiveness includes the following
*Assisting everybody in the organisation to reach stated goals;
*Making efficient use of the skills and abilities of the human resource planning;
*Providing the organisation with well-trained and motivated employees;
*Assisting in the attainment of the employees’ job satisfaction and self-actualisation;
*Developing a quality of work life that makes employment in the organization desirable;
Human resource planning
is the process of using an organization’s goals and strategy to forecast the organization’s human resource needs in terms of finding, developing and keeping qualified human resources
List the 2 phases of human resource planning
Phase 1:Identify the work required by the organization
Phase 2:Human resource forecasting
Phase 3:The human resource plan
Phase 1
To identify a position in an organization, a job analysis process is followed, which generates two outcomes: a job description and a job specification.
Job analysis
is the process by which management systematically investigates the tasks, duties and responsibilities of a job within an organization
various ways in which this information can be collected:
Observation by a qualified job analyst. The job analyst observes the employee working and records all the relevant information.
Interviewing, where the job analyst interviews an employee and asks for a description of responsibilities and tasks.
Questionnaires may also be used.
Job description
Whichever method of data collection is used for job analysis, the information is put in writing in a certain format so that other people who are not involved in the job analysis can gain thorough insight into the contents of the job.
Contents of a business:
Job title, purpose of the job, what the position holder will have to do, how the job must be done and under which conditions. It could be followed by a brief description of each main task, with more detail. A description of the kind of decisions that need to be made by the employee may follow, as well as the relevant lines of authority
Job specification
The personal qualifications an employee must possess in order to perform the duties and responsibilities depicted in the job description are contained in the job specification. Typically, job specifications detail the knowledge, skills and abilities
relevant to a job, including the education, experience, specialized training, personal traits of the person doing the job may
also include the physical demands the job places on an employee.
Phase 2
The purpose of human resource forecasting is to
balance human resource supply and human resource demand. Demand is affected by business objectives because these objectives determine the number of people needed to attain them. Supply is affected by the human resource programmes providing the human resources
Economic growth
This involves forecasting the expected growth (or shrinkage) of
the business in view of probable economic developments. For example, will there be a recession or growth in the near or distant future?
New developments in the business
These include planned physical extensions,
the establishment of new branches and technological changes (especially those that will affect staff, for computerized machinery might create a greater need for technically skilled employees)
The labor market
Important questions in this regard include: Are there
sufficient opportunities in the labor market, or is there a high level of unemployment?
Phase 3
The purpose of this plan is to provide concrete guidelines and steps that indicate how the business’s short-, medium- and long-term human resource requirements can be provided for
Such a human resource plan might, for example, make provision for an active recruiting campaign, emphasize the need for intensive training programmes or even make a strong recommendation to automate because of a possible shortage of human resources
Recruiting
To ensure that a sufficient number of, and competent, applicants apply for the various jobs in the business as and when required
There are two basic sources: recruitment from
inside the organization and recruitment from outside the organization
Recruitment from inside the organization
Means trying as far as possible to fill vacant positions with existing staff members, except for jobs on the lowest levels. In
practice, it means that people from outside are appointed only at the lowest level and that all more senior jobs in the hierarchy are filled by means of promotion of existing staff
Employment Equity Act (No. 55 of 1998) and the Labor Relations Act (No. 66 of 1995)
Several methods can be used for internal recruitment
Talent inventories, career development systems, acting and secondment arrangements, job shadowing and
supervisory recommendations.
Advantages of internal recruitment
*Career planning becomes possible, in that individual employees see a future for themselves in the business
*Assessment of applicants is easier because the business already has considerable information on the possible candidates’ abilities, work performance and potential.
*The cost of recruitment is low because advertising, travel and board-and-lodging expenses are largely eliminated
Disadvantages of internal recruitment
*The business tends to stagnate because staff members often think like their predecessors. There are therefore no new ideas, and this impacts innovation and creativity negatively.
*Staff appointed at lower levels do not necessarily have the potential to fill senior management posts
*There can be a lot of personal competition among colleagues, to the detriment of co-operation between them
Recruitment from outside the organization
Recruitment from outside means looking for suitable applicants outside the business when a post becomes vacant (external recruiting).
Advantages of external recruitment
An active effort is made to obtain the right person for the job – that is, someone with the most suitable qualifications and experience.
The opportunity is created for bringing in new ideas, schools of thought and approaches, which considerably increase the possibility for innovation in the
business.
Disadvantages of external recruitment
*Recruiting costs are considerably higher for items such as advertising and travelling expenses to enable applicants to come from elsewhere for the interview
*It is risky because the assessment of applicants can never be perfect. The possibility therefore exists that the successful applicant will not be successful in the job.
*The morale of existing personnel can be negatively influenced. Employees with high potential will not be prepared to stay indefinitely at the same level and might
consider resigning
Combinations of internal and external recruitment approaches
*Some businesses first look inside. They only recruit outside if they cannot find a suitable candidate.
*Some businesses advertise all jobs above a certain level, but encourage existing personnel to apply. In this way, management tries to find the most suitable candidate, regardless of whether the person comes from inside or outside
The recruiting procedure(from inside)
If a business recruits from inside, the HR manager must ensure that an efficient human
resource record system exists. It is called a known as a human resource information system (HRIS).This information from HRIS also includes the candidates’ readiness for the job, which may also be assessed through the
organization’s HRIS and talent data. When a job becomes vacant, the HR manager should be in a position to identify the most suitable candidates. Makes them aware of the developmental journey
The recruiting procedure(from outside)
The HR manager must know exactly who to recruit, where to recruit from and how people should be
recruited. Thorough analysis of labour market. A labour market can be defined as all the people who are able to work and
want employment in an area or a country, in relation to the number of jobs that are available in that area or country
Recruiting methods
Recruitment through advertisements
Recruitment through private employment/recruitment agencies.
Recruitment through existing employees
Recruitment through personal approach
Recruitment through radio, TV and the Internet (e-recruiting)
Sundry recruiting strategies
An indication of remuneration
An indication of the remuneration offered is also important, firstly to draw the right applicants and secondly to eliminate potential applicants who already earn more
Advantages of e-recruitment
»E-recruitment involves a shorter recruiting cycle time, improving HR’s efficiency in the recruiting process.
»It attracts passive job seekers.
»It is not limited to local candidates, but provides wider –even global – coverage.
Disadvantages of e-recruitment
»It attracts a huge volume of unqualified candidates.
»It can result in outdated resumes.
»E-recruitment tools may not be user-friendly.
Selection
Selection is the process of determining which individuals are best suited to fill positions in the organisation, taking into account individual differences, the requirements of the job, and the organisation’s internal and external environments.
List the 3 phases of selection
The selection process to be used for senior management posts can be divided into
the following three phases:
1.Preliminary screening
2.Intensive assessment
3.Final selection
Preliminary screening
The most efficient method for separating undesirable candidates from potential applicants is to compare the application with the job specification
This interview provides the HR manager with the
opportunity to form a general opinion of the applicant based on appearance,
articulateness and self-confidence. It also gives the applicant the opportunity to obtain
more information about the business and the specific job.
the HR manager should learn answers to the following questions:
*Does the applicant comply with the minimum requirements as given in the job
specification?
*Which type of jobs did the applicant hold in the past?
*How quickly did he or she progress? This demonstrates agility to progress
Intensive assessment
Intensive assessment basically involves two steps: psychological testing and diagnostic interviewing. Although medical selection usually forms part of the final selection process
Psychological testing can provide valuable information about an applicant. Tests usually involve a measurement of the applicant’s personality, abilities and management skills
A diagnostic interview is used to obtain information that was not highlighted in the tests or on the application form . A good interviewer looks for certain characteristics by asking specific questions about the applicant’s past performance
Final Selection
At the stage of final selection, there is usually enough information available about the applicants to compile a shortlist of approximately three persons
In the final comparison of applicants, it may be useful to interview all three (or two) again briefly. What is essential, however, is to record the strengths and weaknesses of each of the final applicants in writing before the final decision is made. These documents must be kept for record purposes should a problem arise in the future.
On-boarding
The new employee must go through a process of on-boarding (also known as induction, orientation or socialisation). On-boarding is the process of introducing the employee to the organisation and to make him or her familiar with the details and requirements of the position
An induction programme will achieve the following:
*Introduce new employees to their colleagues, and facilitate and expedite the socialisation process;
*Explain the business’s policy, procedures and rules to new employees so that they are aware of the environment in which they will be working;
*Inform new employees about the business’s history, products and services, as well as its reputation in the market
*Inform employees about practical arrangements – for example, payment procedures, overtime payment, incentive systems, eating arrangements
*Inform employees about the organisational structure of the business, and show them where they fit in and which communication channels are available to them
Off-boarding
Off-boarding is the process in which an employee leaves the service of the organisation due to retirement, resignation or any other reason. This process is also a very important phase in the life of an employee and the organisation because it entails
important processes such as exit interviews
Human resource development methods
Training(typically involves providing employees with the knowledge and skills needed to do a particular task or job, although attitude change may also be attempted) and development(in contrast, have a longer-term focus on preparing for future work responsibilities, while at the same time increasing the capacities of employees to perform their current jobs)
Technical and management training(The word ‘technical’ refers not only to tasks performed in a workshop, but any task that has to be performed physically, refer to all non-management tasks. By ‘management’, we mean tasks undertaken to achieve business goals such as planning, organizing, leading and controlling people, finances and physical resources )
Human resource development
As a set of systematic and planned activities designed by an organisation to provide its members with the opportunities to learn necessary skills to meet current and future job demands
When should HRD activities commence
When an employee joins an organization during the on-boarding process and continues throughout their career.
What should HRD programmes respond to?
Must respond to job changes and must integrate the long-term plans and strategies of the organization to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources
Development methods
On-the-job training and development
Away-from-the-job training and development
On-the-job training and development
Trainees learn by observing experienced employees and by working with the materials, personnel or machinery that constitute the job. Therefore, the transfer of training is high
On-the-job training and development methods
Job rotation
Job shadowing
Job enrichment
Apprenticeships
Job instruction training
Coaching
Mentoring
Internships
Job rotation
Job rotation is when a staff member is moved to a new job as a means of enriching and stretching the staff member, provided the staff member knows the current job well.
It is important to note that job rotation requires targeted development to ensure general competencies
Job shadowing
It is an intervention that supports an employee who desires to become familiar with a job. This occurs by means of following and observing a trained, knowledgeable and experienced employee in the field.
