MHR 523 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Balanced Scorecard, Nominal Group Technique, Executive Search
9 May 2018
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MHR 523: MIDTERM NOTES (CH.1,2,4,5,6)
CHAPTER 1: The Strategic Role of Human Resources Management
Human resources management- the management of people in organizations to drive successful
organizational performance and achievement of the organizations strategic goals
Human capital- the knowledge, education, training, skills, and expertise of an organizations
workforce
Scientific management- process of scientifically analyzing manufacturing processes to reduce costs
and compensating employees based on their performance levels (early 1900s)
Human relations movement- belief that the attitudes and feelings of workers are important and
deserve more attention (concern for people, mid 1900s)
Human resources movement- focus on concern for people and productivity (late 1900s + today)
Outsourcing- the practice of contracting with outside vendors to handle specified business functions
on a permanent basis
HRM Responsibilities (Operational)
• Planning future workforce requirements
• Selecting employees
• Orienting and training employees
• Managing compensation and reward plans
• Communicating with employees (including counseling and disciplining)
[HR Competency Model:
Organization Capabilities: talent manager/organization designer, culture and change steward,
strategy architect
Systems and Processes: operational executor, business ally
Relationships: credible activist]
Employee engagement- the emotional and intellectual involvement of employees in their work, such
as intensity, focus, and involvement in his or her job and organizations
Strategy- the company’s plan for how it will balance its internal strengths and weaknesses with
external opportunities and threats to maintain a competitive advantage
• HR is a business partner in strategy formulation
• HR specialists are change agents that drive strategy implementation
Metrics- statistics used to measure activities and results, used to measure the impact of HR activity
on the business
Balanced scorecard- a measurement system that translates organizations strategy into a
comprehensive set of a performance measures
HR Metrics:
• Analyze changes internally over time
• Analyze company results compared to other companies
• BC Human Resources Management Association HR Metrics Service (database of metrics for
many organizations)
• Absenteeism (avg.5 days/ee/year)
• Turnover, retention (20% ee turnover/year)
• Safety (# of accidents/year)
• Labor relations (# of grievances/year)
• Recruiting and selection
- Time to fill (avg. 71 days for executives)
- Cost per hire (avg. $41,000 for executives)
- Quality of hire (performance reviews, formal testing)
External Environmental influences on HRM:
• Economic conditions (employment/productivity levels, growth of
primary/secondary/tertiary sectors)
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• Labor market issues (demographic issues, education levels, nonstandard/contingent
workers) Canada’s workforce is the most diverse in the world, increasing workforce
diversity, generational differences)
• Technology
• Government
• Globalization
• Environmental concerns
Internal Environmental influences on HRM- organizational culture, organizational climate,
management practices
The 4 generations:
Traditionalists- born before 1946, grew up during an era of hardship
Baby Boomers- born between 1946-1964, largest group in the workforce
Generation X- born between 1965 and 1980, first technology literate
Generation Y- individuals born since 1980
• Top concerns as workers retire: loss of experienced leaders/corporate knowledge
• Plans to retain mature workers: flexible hours, pension benefits, leaves of absence
External Environmental influences:
Technology:
• New technologies: Twitter, facebook, video conferencing
• Concerns over data control, accuracy, right to privacy, ethics
• Computerized monitoring of e-mail, voicemail, computer usage, telephone convo
Government:
• Ensure policies and practices comply with new and changing laws covering
-human rights
-employment standards
-labor relations
-occupational health and safety
workers compensation
Globalization:
• Forms extend business operations abroad
• HR professionals must become familiar with employment legislation in other countries
and manage ethical dilemmas when labor standards are lower than those in Canada
External influences: Environmental concerns:
Topics of increasing importance:
• Sustainability
• Climate change
• Global warming
• Pollution
• Carbon footprints
• Extinction of wildlife species
• Ecosystem fragility
Internal influences
Organizational Culture
• Core values, beliefs and assumptions
• Often conveyed through an organizations mission statement
• Positive culture is desired
Internal Influences:
Organizational Climate
• prevailing atmosphere in an organization
• friendly/unfriendly, open/secretive, rigid/flexible, innovative/stagnant
• influenced by leadership, HR polices, communication style
Internal Influences:
Management Practices
• bureaucratic organizations being replaced with flatter structures
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find more resources at oneclass.com
CHAPTER 4: Designing and Analyzing Jobs
Job- a group of related activities and duties, held by a single employee or a number of employees
Position- the collection of tasks and responsibilities performed by one person
Job analysis- the procedure for determining the tasks, duties and responsibilities of each job, and the
human attributes (in terms of knowledge, skills, and abilities) required to perform it
Steps in Job Analysis:
1. review relevant background information
2. select jobs to be anaylyzed
3. collect data on job actitivies
4. verify/modify data if required
5. write job descriptions and job specifications
6. communicate and update information as needed
STEP 1
Organizational structure- the formal relationships among jobs in an organization, should be
appropriate given strategic goals
Organization chart- clarifies chain of command; who reports to who, but does not explain power,
authority, or duties
Process chart- shows the flow of inputs and outputs from the job under study
STEP 2
Job design- the process of systematically organizing work into tasks that are required to perform a
specific job
Job Specialization
• work simplification
• industrial engineering
Behavioral Aspects
• job enlargement, job rotation, job enrichment, team based job design
Ergonomic Aspects
• physical needs of workers
competencies an employee must exhibit to do a job well
Examples: general- reading, writing, mathematics, leadership- strategic thinking, motivating
Competencies- demonstrable characteristics that enable performance of a job
Competency-based job analysis- describing a job in terms of the measureable, observable behavioral
-It encourages workers to learn and rotate among jobs
-More strategic approach to defining jobs
-Supports performance management process
STEP 3
Interviews, questionnaires, participant diary/log, national occupation classification
National Occupational Classification (NOC)- a reference tool for writing job descriptions and job
specifications
• reference tool for writing job descriptions and job specifications
• compiled by the federal government (HRSDC)
• contains comprehensive, standardized descriptions of about 30,000 occupations and the
requirements for each
• NOC and it counseling component, The Career Handbook, both focus on occupations rather
than jobs
• an occupation is a collection of jobs that share some or all of a set of main duties
STEP 4
• Verify with workers currently performing the job, supervisors
• Increases validity and reliability: concerns can be addressed
STEP 5
Job description- statement of duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, and working conditions
of the job
Job specifications- statement of requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the job
Human Rights Legislation Considerations:
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Chapter 1: the strategic role of human resources management. Human resources management- the management of people in organizations to drive successful organizational performance and achievement of the organizations strategic goals. Human capital- the knowledge, education, training, skills, and expertise of an organizations workforce. Scientific management- process of scientifically analyzing manufacturing processes to reduce costs and compensating employees based on their performance levels (early 1900s) Human relations movement- belief that the attitudes and feelings of workers are important and deserve more attention (concern for people, mid 1900s) Human resources movement- focus on concern for people and productivity (late 1900s + today) Outsourcing- the practice of contracting with outside vendors to handle specified business functions on a permanent basis. Selecting employees: planning future workforce requirements, orienting and training employees, managing compensation and reward plans, communicating with employees (including counseling and disciplining) Organization capabilities: talent manager/organization designer, culture and change steward, strategy architect.
