Chapter 3 - Environmental Influences on HRM Flashcards
What is Environmental Scanning? Why is it essential?
Environmental scanning is a process of gathering, analyzing, and dispensing information for tactical or strategic purposes.
> HR Strategists need information about their environment in order to exploit the opportunities or cope with threats
A lack of environmental scanning is often what gets organizations into major trouble.
Once successful, there is a tendency for organizations to sit back on their laurels and assume that success will support the status quo.
Managers sometimes forget that constant monitoring of the external environment is essential because an organization does not exist in isolation.
What is the purpose of Environmental scanning
Effective utilization of resources Constant monitoring of resources Strategy formulation Identification of threats and opportunities Useful for the managers Prediction of future
What are 3 approaches to environmental scanning?
Systematic Approach
Ad-hoc Approach
Process Form Approach
What is the systematic approach to Env Scanning
Systematic Approach
Information for environmental scanning collected systematically
Information pertaining to business and industry could be collected continuously to monitor changes
Continuous updating necessary not only for strategic management but also for operational activities
In this approach information is collected relating to market, customers, changes in legislation
What is the ad-hoc approach to Env Scanning
Ad-hoc Approach
Organizations conduct special surveys and studies to undertake special projects, evaluate existing strategies and devise new strategies
Changes and unforeseen developments may also be investigated
What the is the process form approach to Env. Scanning
Process Form Approach
Information used is supplied by govt agencies or private institutions
Secondary data available from external and internal sources may also be used
What are 4 Env. Scanning methods?
Scanning - to ID early signals and trends
Monitoring - Systematic approach to following some key indicators
Forecasting - an attempt to project the possible impact of a trend
Assessing - an attempt to describe the impact of the monitored trend
What are 4 sources of HR information?
HR professionals rely on many sources of information including:
Publications (Benefits Canada, Harvard Business Review, Canadian Labour law reporter)
Professional associations (Canadian HR planners, Conference Board of Canada)
Conferences/seminars
Professional consultants
It is important for managers to keep up-to-date on organizational trends inside and outside of their industries.
What are the top HR trends, according to the centre for executive organizations
Globalization Mass Customization Social Media General Diversity Open innovations Personal Technology Sustainability Big Data Gamification
What are the top Human Capital challenges, according to conference board of canada)
Leadership Capacity Employee Engagement Capacity to respond to rapid change Changing nature of work and workplace Labour cost containment
What is competitive intelligence?
Business Intelligence is the processes, technologies, and tools that help us change data into information, information into knowledge and knowledge into plans that guide organization
A formal approach to obtain information about your competitors
Information gathered through all these competitive intelligence methods must be subjected to two evaluation questions:
Is the source reliable?
What is the likelihood of the information being correct?
What are the 4 steps to scenario based planning?
- Identify three probable business Scenarios that might play out over the next 5 years. (most desirable, most likely, least desirable.
- Assess HR readiness or each scenario. Ask: What are the challenges and ID the HR’s ability to respond
- Challenges – HR’s strengths and weaknesses.
Assess the likely trends/competitive threats
Likely threats by rivals; predicted needs of the employees - Identify HR initiatives and programs
Labor shortage of skilled mechanics - joint program with community college
What is the challenge to environmental scanning?
Inability to:
Accurately predict the future
Isolate what really is important to HR
Drones delivery, Robots, Driverless cars etc.
What are four criteria that have been suggested for ID’ing significant trends
Four Criteria to identify significant trends:
- Are there ripple effects?
- How profound are the impacts on the people’ priorities, roles and expectations
- How large is the impact scope
- Will the changes endure over time
What are the major environmental factors?
Economic climate Globalization Political and legislative factors Technological factors Demographic factors Social and cultural factors
What are elements within the economic climate?
Unemployment rate Cost of fuel/commuting Strength of the Canadian dollar Public debt Interest rates Gig economy
What are elements within the globalization climate?
The growth in flow of trade and financial capital across borders
Affects sovereignty, prosperity, jobs, wages, and social legislation
Growth of emerging economies: India and China
What are factors within the political and legal climate?
Provincial and federal governments influence organizations by: Creating jobs Emphasizing tax cuts Providing tax incentives to develop jobs Increasing job-training opportunities Creating balanced labor legislation
What are technological factors?
> Includes tools, machinery, equipment, and software
Robots replacing humans for repetitive, dangerous tasks
Computer networks and cloud computing make it possible to store and manage unlimited amounts of data.
Social media has influenced how organizations recruit, check references, and manage off-site conduct of their employees
Requires changes, Eliminate lower-level positions, less hierarchy more collaboration, Telecommuting and Electronic monitoring
What are relevant demographic factors?
The study of population statistics, including:
> Labor market
> Unemployment rate, geographic migration, graduation rates, and underutilized segments of the society etc.
> Movement of Semi-skilled to high skills, international workers demand increase
> Diversity
E.g. underutilized pool of highly educated minority
Generational differences
What are relevant socio-cultural factors?
Right to privacy: Laws and regulations in effect, but still questions as to employer’s moral right to monitor employee activities
Work–life balance: Quality time with families while pursuing a career, desire to have better quality of life: elder care, child care, flextime, telecommuting, reduced hours, part-time hours, job sharing
Contingent workers: Aimed at part-time, seasonal, temporary, and contract employees
Stakeholders: Groups of people who have an interest in the projects, policies, or outcomes of an organization’s decisions, including board of directors, senior management, supervisors, employees, unions
What are workforce strategies for the Baby boomer generation?
Communication: Show respect, choose face-to-face
Development and job design: Acknowledge accomplishments, create an open work environment
Recruitment: Use headhunters, advertise in newspaper
Retention: develop solutions to postpone retirement. highlight value and contributions to the company
What are workforce strategies for Generation X
Communication: Get to the point, use email generally, but face to face to deal with issues
development and job design: give them space to explore and find solutions. lighten up, work can be fun
Recruitment: Go through social networks. create employee referall programs
Retention: get over the notion of having to pay ones dues. Provide flexible work solutions. Set up clear steps for advancement
What are workforce strategies for Generation Y (millennial)
Communication: Orient them quickly. email and instant messaging are preferred
development and job design: provide feedback quickly, challenge them to outline the end game of reach task
Recruitment: Utilize technology (facebook etc. ) allow space for parental input
retention: find them a mentor, allow them to contribute to the community, introduce new opportunities frequently
What is the issues priority matrix?
> Used to determine the important trends that may affect an organization
Managers rate the trends from high to low based on:
The probability of these trends actually occurring
And The likely impact of each of these trends on the organization
What is a proactive approach to HR?
HR managers are not passive observers; they want to participate and influence the trends
Some organizations will lobby for legislative changes and shape perceptions
Use SWOT analysis to determine impact on organization
What are the 3 stages in the environmental analysis process
It is a circular/constant flow between:
Scanning and monitoring the general environment
> PESTEL
Scanning and monitoring the business environment
> Porter five forces
> stakeholders
HR forecasting and assessing
> issue priority
> SWOT
> scenario planning
