HR Influences Flashcards
What are the stakeholders of HR?
1) Employers
2) Employees
3) Employer associations
4) Unions
5) Government organisations
6) Society
How do employers influence HR?
They decide pay and conditions, and need to manage staff well to maintain them
How do employees influence HR?
They will be demotivated or leave if they are not treated well and provided with satisfactory pay and conditions
What is a union?
An organisation that represents employees in contract negotiations and legal disputes with employers
How do unions influence HR?
1) They represent staff when negotiating enterprise agreements
2) They can organise industrial action (such as a strike) by members if the business is not ‘bargaining in good faith’ (negotiating seriously)
3) They lobby (persuade) the Fair Work Commission and the Government to improve legal entitlements of employees
What is an employer association?
An organisation that represent a group of employers in an industry
How do employer associations influence HR?
1) Provide advice to businesses on contract negotiations
2) They lobby (persuade) the Fair Work Commission and the Government to reduce the legal entitlements of employees
How does society influence HR?
The public may stop buying a product if staff are poorly treated
What government organisations influence HR?
- Fair Work Commission
- Australian Human Rights Commission (for discrimination cases)
- State courts (where common law contracts are enforced)
In what ways does the economy influence HR?
1) The business cycle
2) Globalisation
What is the business cycle?
Changes in the level of demand for products in the whole economy (not for one particular business)
What are the stages of the business cycle?
- Upswing / expansion
- Boom / peak
- Downswing / contraction
- Recession / trough
How does the business cycle affect HR?
In an upswing or boom, businesses need to hire more staff. Also, because they are competing to hire them, they will have to offer higher wages
How does globalisation affect HR?
1) To compete with foreign businesses, will now need to train staff to be more efficient.
2) Can now outsource work overseas more easily, so local staff might be made redundant.
In what ways does technology influence HR?
1) Change the types of jobs people do - so some people will need to be trained or hired, and others made redundant
2) Change where people do their jobs, such as working from home or with colleagues in other locations
In what ways do social changes influence HR?
1) Changing work patterns
2) Living standards
In what ways do changing work patterns influence HR?
- Employees increasingly want flexibility in working hours, so HR needs to provide that
- Increasing participation of women in the workforce means EEO is even more important to remove barriers
- Many Australians are considering early retirement, so need to offer flexibility and incentives for them to keep working
How do living standards influence HR?
Australians are used to high living standards (i.e. wages, conditions), so:
- If you don’t offer them, you won’t attract/retain good staff
- Businesses may consider offshoring work to reduce costs
How can a business be ethical and demonstrate CSR in HR?
1) EEO practices
2) Improve WHS
3) Have a code of conduct to prevent bullying
4) Treat overseas and outsourced workers fairly
What are the benefits of ethical HR?
- Improved worker satisfaction and productivity
- Lower staff turnover
- Improved reputation and sales
What is the case study for economic influences on HR?
UNSW - leave without pay in the pandemic
What is the case study for technological influences on HR?
UNSW - remote logins and online lectures
What is the case study for social influences on HR?
UNSW - Flexible Workplace Champions
What is the case study for ethical influences on HR?
Chevron - EEO practices
Why is it important to have a diverse workforce?
- Hiring from all backgrounds means you get the best possible person for the job
- More perspectives and ideas
- All staff feel valued, so are less likely to leave
- Ethical reputation to customers
- Understand cultures of different target markets
Why is it important to have a culturally competent workforce?
Culturally competent means employees can work well with people from different backgrounds.
This reduces disputes and improves teamwork
