Employee Outcomes Flashcards
What are the key HR objectives?
- Staffing objectives - who to recruit/select, what is going on in the labour market
- Performance - motivation
- Change management - new technology? culture?
- Administrative objectives - payroll, payslips, legal contracts
- Repetitional objectives - organisations more concerned about reputation than ever
What HR ambiguities exist?
Overlap in activities: HRM is a set of activities for all managers as well as a specialist function.
Difficulty of defining success: difficulty of determining who or what was responsible for success or failure and identifying the unique contribution of the HR function
Mediating role: HR managers are part of management, while having a special relationship with and responsibility for the employees
How does Ulrich (1997) outline the role of HR as business partners?
A matrix with 4 quadrants ranging from strategic focus to operational focus (up and down) and process focus to people focus (left to right)
Which quadrant is process focused and strategically focused?
Strategic partner: management of strategic Human Resources, aligning HR and business strategy
Which quadrant is process focused and day to day focused (operational)?
Administrative partner: management of firm infrastructure, managing organisational processes
Which quadrant is future (Strategic) focused and people focused?
Management of transformation of change - creating a renewed organisation
Which quadrant is people focused and day to day (operational) focused?
Employee champion: management of employee contribution - increasing employee commitment and capability by listening and responding to employees
What does Capelli (2015) say HR should do to deal with ambiguities?
- Set the agenda - be clear about what you are trying to achieve
- Focus on issues that matter in the here and now
- Acquire business knowledge
- Highlight financial benefits
- Walk away from the time wasters
How are employees seen as resources and assets?
People are seen as employees or workers, not employees seen as people (economic and business perspective)
Employees are intangible assets and there are consequences of not valuing human assets (Mayo)
The paradox - employees are both
What is the role of managers in today’s organisations?
- Ensuring that the supply of labour is in line with demand
- Operation
- Maintenance and development
- Order and control
- Generating commitment
What are the rights of employees in today’s organisations?
- To be treated as a human being: to be known and to be a part of something
- To be valued as an employee
- To be allowed to work In a secure and safe working environment
- To be allowed to grow and develop as an employee
- To be paid and rewarded fairly
What is hard HRM?
- Task oriented/instrumental approach
- Employees viewed as passive means to production
- Employees just a resource
- Employees are an expense that should be used cost effectively
- Employees are easily replicable and disposable
- Economic focus on quantitive aspects
What is soft HRM?
- People oriented/humanistic approach
- Employees are not just another resource; valuable assets
- Employees must be active in the organisation
- They have unique competencies which are valuable
- Employees feelings should be considered
- Employees should be motivated and involved in decision making
What is the human aspect of work (soft HRM)?
- Work is seen as a social activity involving teams
- There is a need for security, belonging and recognition more so than a nice physical environment
- An employee’s attitudes and effectiveness are conditions by social expectations
- When employees complain, it can be seen as a change in their sense of self worth
What is an attitude?
A predisposition or tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a particular target or the object (Aizen, 2001)
