Week 1; Introduction and Data Flashcards
HRM definition:
relates to policies, practices, and systems that influence employees’ behavior, attitudes, and performance.
HRM history:
1) Originates with the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. The link between performance and welfare “welfare officer”.
2) Scientific Management early 20th century. Aimed to increase productivity through efficiency, pay incentives, and training. “labor managers” and “employment managers”. Led to the creation of trade unions and industrial relations
3) Behavioral science, around Second World War. Also known as “Hawthorne effect” as working conditions are now taken intro account. Creation of personnel officer.
Strategic Human Resource Management explained:
Takes a macro-level approach. Coordinated HR to be consistent with the objectives of a business and boosts its performance.
Internal factors of a company:
1) Size and structure
2) Sector the organization operates in
3) Organisational life-cycle
4) Financial health
5) Values and ideology of senior management
6) Organisational culture
7) Workforce characteristics
8) Established “custom and practice”
External factors of a company:
1) Competition
2) Technology
3) Labour market
4) Legislation
5) Regulation
6) Ethics
Employee life-cycle:
1) Attract and select : branding, design, structure, recruitment strategy, selection techniques, and onboarding.
2) Manage and develop: Organizational culture, management style, performance management, motivation, development, discipline, and participation.
3) Reward and retain: Pay and benefits, recognition, engagement, talent management, succession planning, career planning, welfare.
4) Separate: Exit interviews, outsourcing, retirement, redundancy.
High-performance work system (HPWS):
Each HR policy guides HR practice in a way that creates organizational behavior that leads to the desired outcome.
HR dimensions:
1) Individual: building effective relationships and good reputations across the business
2) Organizationally: responsible for the design and delivery of HR across the organization
3) Contextually: HR strategy is developed taking into account internal and external factors applicable to the organization.
4) Strategic level: shift the perspective that the HR function is to help deliver business strategy rather than just manage relationships.
Hard and soft approaches:
Hard refers to treating people like any other resource, while the soft approach recognizes employees as valuable assets to the organization.
The Michigan model of HRM:
Also known as the fit model. Focuses on the alignment of HR and business strategy and HR practices themselves.
Selection -> performance -> appraisal -> reward or development
One-way nature and also lack of recognition (interests and behavior of employee); low involvement “hard approach”.
Fit between HRM and the business strategy
1) Separation model - no fit between strategy and HRM
2) Fit model - strategy influences HR
3) Dialogue model - HR can influence business strategy
4) Holistic model - both HR and business strategy develop in tandem.
The necessary characteristics in the mix of HRM:
1) Credible activists: HRM practitioners are credible and deliver on their promises
2) Capability builders: HRM practitioners identify core processes and capabilities that help deliver business strategy and then deliver appropriately
3) Change champions: enable the organization to respond to external pressures and the pace of change.
4) Innovators and integrators: HRM uses the latest information and evidence to develop new HR practices
5) Technology proponents: HRM have the skills to leverage available technology
Universal approach to HRM:
Interest of each stakeholder should be reflected in the HRM strategy, which is closely aligned to business strategy. Situational factors are taken into account.
High level of complexity and high-involvement approach.
Guest model of HRM:
Compromise of the low-involvement and high-involvement model.
Key principles:
1) Strategic integration: HR aligned to business strategy
2) High commitment: commitment in that employees are expected to identify with the interests of org. and behave accordingly
3) Flexibility: employees can change in case the business demands change
4) High quality: the quality of staff is important in achieving high performance
Strategic approaches to HRM:
Contingency approach: Focus is on organisational context (external factors) and there is no universal answer to HR practises. Also known as best-fit approach.
Universalist approach: believes that there is a set of best practices, regardless of context and competitive strategy.
Lately, there is a visible shift towards low-involvement HRM.
