Introduction to Human Resource Management

Question 1

How do we differentiate employees?

Answer 1

According to their function: line or staff

• Line employees - directly involved in the production process
• Staff employees - employees who support the line function (people in HR are considered staff employees)

According to their responsibility: senior, junior, etc.
- Senior employees are those who have been with the company longer and have more responsibility than junior employees

According to their compensation: exempt and nonexempt

• Exempt employees - do not receive extra pay for overtime work
• Nonexempt employees - receive overtime compensation

Question 2

What are environmental challenges?

Answer 2

They are forces external to the firm
They influence the organisation but are largely outside of management’s control
Managers need to monitor the environment for opportunities and threats
They must maintain the flexibility to react quickly to challenges

Question 3

What are the 8 environmental challenges firms face?

Answer 3

1. Rapid change
2. Internet revolution
3. Workforce diversity
4. Globalisation
5. Legislation
6. Evolving work and family roles
7. Skills shortage and rise of service sector
8. Natural disasters and terrorism

Question 4

Comment on rapid change:

Answer 4

Firms need to adapt to change quickly and effectively -> an effective response system
Dealing with stress: rapid change and work overload can put employees under great stress
Unless the organisation develops support mechanisms to keep stress manageable, both the firm and employees may pay a heavy price (increased absenteeism, tardiness, loss of talented workers)

Question 5

Comment on the internet revolution:

Answer 5

Dealing with information overflow: e-mails consume a large amount of time, adding to communication time rather than reducing it

Breaking down labor market barriers: the internet is creating an open labor market where information about prospective employees and firms is available worldwide and may be obtained quickly

Question 6

Comment on globalisation:

Answer 6

Some firms try to develop a global company identity to smooth over cultural differences between domestic and international employees. Minimising these differences increases cooperation.
Some firms recruit workers globally, where specialised knowledge and expertise are not limited by national boundaries.
- Industrial metamorphosis: The labor force is continuously decreasing due to the growing mechanisation of some businesses. Replacing workers with technology is done to increase productivity and longevity. Labor unions have lost much of their influence.
- Global alliances -> International alliances with foreign firms require a highly trained and devoted staff.
- A virtual workforce -> Using skilled foreign labor without the need to move the workers to your effective place of business.

Question 7

Comment on evolving family roles:

Answer 7

The proportion of dual-career families, in which both wife and husband work, is increasing every year.
More companies are introducing “family-friendly” programs to give them a competitive advantage. These include adoption benefits, child care, elder-care resources, parenting support and telework.

Question 8

What is organisational culture?

Answer 8

Refers to the basic assumptions and beliefs shared by members of an organisation .

• Observed behavioural regularities when people interact
• The norms
• The philosophy that guides an organisation’s policy
• The rules of the game for getting along in the organisation
• The feeling or climate

Question 9

What is outsourcing?

Answer 9

Definition: shifting work once performed internally to outside suppliers and contractors
Outsourcing saves money

Outsourcing creates several HR challenges for firms :

• Employees may face layoffs when their jobs are farmed out to the lowest bidder
• Customer dissatisfaction can result if subcontractors are not carefully watched and evaluated
• HR providers don’t often provide enough access and human interaction

Question 10

What are the individual challenges?

Answer 10

1. Matching people and organisations
2. Ethics and social responsibility
3. Productivity
4. Empowerment
5. Brain drain
6. Job insecurity

Question 11

Comment on proactive and reactive behaviour:

Answer 11

• Being Proactive -> looking ahead and developing a vision of where the company wants to be and how to get there
• Being Reactive -> responding to problems as they come up

Reactive companies may lose sight of the long-term direction of their business; proactive companies are better prepared for the future