HR Process And Trends Flashcards
The policies, practices, and systems that influence employees’ behavior, attitudes, and performance
Human Resource Management (HRM)
What is the objective of HRM
To manage, hopefully improve, the employment relationship
How was HRM traditionally seen
Personnel/administrative focus
Seen as a necessary expense
Contemporary HRM
HR practices as source of value to organizations
Effective HRM practices affect (5)
Profitability Customer sat Productivity Job satisfaction Innovation
Labor forces skill deficiencies in the past vs. today
Past: employees performed routine tasks requiring physical strength or specific task-mastery (e.g. Factory workers)
Today: employees have a variety of task and responsibilities requiring general abilities (e.g. Interpersonal)
The gap between skills needed and skills available has increased, resulting in
Companies competing for employees
Anytime access information on training, benefits, compensation, policies, job listings, etc.
HRIS/e-HRM
Affects labor laws, job requirements, employee motivation, and recruiting
e-Business
Allow for geographically dispersed talent to work interdependently on a task
Virtual teams
Expatriates
Moving employees abroad
Offshoring
Moving operations abroad
Describes what employees and employers expect from the employment relationship
Psychological contract
Independent contractors, on-call workers, and temporary workers
Contingent workers
What is human resource management? (HRM)
The policies, practices, and systems that influence employees behavior, attitudes, and performance
HRIS/e-HRM
Anytime access information on training, benefits, compensation, policies, job listings, etc.
e-Business
Affects labor laws, job requirements, employee motivation, and recruiting
Virtual teams
Allow for geographically dispersed talent to work interdependently on a task
Contingent workers
Independent contractors, on-call workers, and temporary workers
Psychological contract
Describes what employees and employers expect from the employment relationship
Process of analyzing a company’s competitive situation, developing strategic goals, devising a plan of action, and allocating resources that will increase the likelihood of achieving goals
Strategic management
The pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals
Strategic HRM
A value creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors and other firms are unable to duplicate the benefits of this strategy
-valuable, rare, inimitable, and no substitutes
Sustained competitive advantage
Linkage (4 types)
Between Strategic Planning and HR Function Administrative One-way Two-way Integrative
Sustained competitive advantage
A value creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors and other firms are unable to duplicate the benefits of this strategy
-valuable, rare, inimitable, and no substitutes
HRM practices vs HRM systems (imitable vs unique)
Individual HRM practices may be imitable but HRM systems and routines, which develop over time, may be unique to a particular firm and contribute to the creation of specific human capital skills
Strategic management
Process of analyzing a company’s competitive situation, developing strategic goals, devising a plan of action, and allocating resources that will increase the likelihood of achieving goals
Who tested whether HR policies and practices contribute to firm performance (1995) and won the AMJ best paper award and 1996 scholarly achievement award
Huselid
What did Huselid link?
He linked “high performance work practices” (HPWPs) to intermediate employee outcomes (turnover and productivity) and both partially mediate the relationship between those practices and corporate performance
HPWPs: Delery & Doty’s 7 Universalistic “Best Practices”
- Internal career opportunities
- Formal training systems
- Appraisal measures
- Profit sharing
- Employment security
- Voice mechanisms
- Job definition
HPWPs: Pfeffer’s 9 “Best Practices”
- Employment security
- Selective hiring and promotion from within
- High compensation based on performance
- Greater autonomy and challenge
- Extensive use of training & skill development
- Reduction of Status differences
- Aggressively Sharing Information
- Encourage a Long-Term Perspective & Evaluation
- HR as an Overarching Philosophy
Strategic HRM
The pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals
Strategic management
Process of analyzing a company’s competitive situation, developing strategic goals, devising a plan of action, and allocating resources that will increase the likelihood of achieving goals
- Internal career opportunities
- Formal training systems
- Appraisal measures
- Profit sharing
- Employment security
- Voice mechanisms
- Job definition
HPWPs: Delery & Doty’s 7 Universalistic “Best Practices”
Vertical fit for HR practices
Alignment of HR practices and strategy (integrative link)
Horizontal fit for HR practices
Internally consistent HR practices
- Employment security
- Selective hiring and promotion from within
- High compensation based on performance
- Greater autonomy and challenge
- Extensive use of training & skill development
- Reduction of Status differences
- Aggressively Sharing Information
- Encourage a Long-Term Perspective & Evaluation
- HR as an Overarching Philosophy
HPWPs: Pfeffer’s 9 “Best Practices”
Uniqueness vs. strategic value
Uniqueness: is the skill set for this job easy to find?
Strategic: does it add value?
Human Capital Characteristics and Employment Modes Axes
Lepak & Snell
X: strategic value
Y: uniqueness
Quadrant 1: High strategic value, high uniqueness
Knowledge-based employment
Commitment-based HR configuration
Quadrant 2: high strategic value, low uniqueness
Job-based employment
Productivity-based HR configuration
Quadrant 3: low strategic value, low uniqueness
Contractual Work Arrangements
Compliance-based HR configuration
Quadrant 4: low strategic value, high uniqueness
Alliances/partnerships
Collaborative-based HR configuration
Quadrant 1
When human capital is both valuable and unique, it represents the knowledge base around which firms are likely to build their strategies
Firms rely on a knowledge-based employment mode that focuses on internal development and long-term employee commitment for their core employees
Knowledge-based work
Knowledge-based work examples
Software developers or engineers
Quadrant 2
Workers within this quadrant are able to make significant contributions to a firm while possessing skills that are widely transferable
HR configuration is likely to emphasize staffing and deploying skills for immediate contribution, with little attempt to develop employees
Job-based work
Job-based work examples
CPAs or UPS drivers
Quadrant 3
Generic skills that can be purchased easily on the open labor market, and, therefore, can be treated essentially as a commodity
HRPs focus on the work to be done, the results to be accomplished, the terms of the contract, and virtually nothing else
Contractual work arrangements
Contractual work arrangements examples
Outsourced factory workers, custodians
Quadrant 4
Unique human capital that is less codified and transferable than generic skills, yet more widely available than firm-specific skills
HR configuration focus on mutual investment and build trust, while still protecting own investments and gaining access to each other’s talents
Alliances/partnerships
Alliances/partnerships examples
Outside R&D labs or legal consultants
Knowledge-Based Work
Quadrant 1
When human capital is both valuable and unique, it represents the knowledge base around which firms are likely to build their strategies
Firms rely on a knowledge-based employment mode that focuses on internal development and long-term employee commitment for their core employees
Job-based work
Quadrant 2
Workers within this quadrant are able to make significant contributions to a firm while possessing skills that are widely transferable
HR configuration is likely to emphasize staffing and deploying skills for immediate contribution, with little attempt to develop employees
Contractual work arrangements
Quadrant 3
Generic skills that can be purchased easily on the open labor market, and, therefore, can be treated essentially as a commodity
HRPs focus on the work to be done, the results to be accomplished, the terms of the contract, and virtually nothing else
Why is it difficult to implement HR strategically? (4)
HR managers and specialists often do not understand the business
HR employees need: interpersonal skills, decision-making skills, leadership skills, technical (HR) skills
Managers are enslaved by short-term processes
A one-in-eight chance of success
Why are managers enslaved by short-term processes
Evaluations are a year or less (Ratings, Stock) - Yet you cannot change culture < 1 year
Putting out fires
Alliances/partnerships
Quadrant 4
Unique human capital that is less codified and transferable than generic skills, yet more widely available than firm-specific skills
HR configuration focus on mutual investment and build trust, while still protecting own investments and gaining access to each other’s talents
One-in-Eight chance of success
1 in 2 firms will not believe relationship between HRM and Profits exists
1 in 2 firms that do see the relationship will try piecemeal changes (change pay without changing training, recruitment, selection, job design)
1 in 2 firms will not persist long enough
Four skills HR employees need
Interpersonal skills
Decision-making skills
Leadership skills
Technical (HR) skills
