HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CHAPTER NOTES
CHAPTER ONE: STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
• People are the common element in all social organizations
• Create objectives, innovations, accomplishments
• Organizational success depends upon careful attention to human resources
Challenges: Canadian organizations
1. Economic
2. Technological
3. Demographic
4. Cultural
5. Legal
Economic challenges
• Surviving a Recessionary Cycle
o HR managers face special challenges
Planning, communicating, implementing layoff
I.e. layoffs, wage concessions, workforce morale issues
• Global Trade Challenge
o Jobs/prosperity depend upon international trade
o Canadian organizations are opening new plants & expanding activities in foreign
countries that are closer to customers/where labor is cheaper
o Arrival of global village requires major changes in employee management
• Challenge of Productivity Improvement o Essential for long-run success
o Reduce costs, save scarce resources, enhance profits
o Canada faces gap with U.S. in productivity levels
o Innovation is a major challenge
o Outsourcing is increasingly poplar but has major implications
Issue: reduced employee morale caused by job insecurity
To meet employee goals, HR department initiates retraining for displaced
workers (to take up other jobs) or help them find jobs (“outplacement”)
o Problem: productivity while maintaining quality of life for employees
o Workplace innovation, job redesign, people management, technology advances
necessary
Technological challenges
• Computerization
o Processing large volumes of information on a timely basis
o Flexible work design and telecommuting
Telecommuting: paid labor performed at employee’s home with
assistance of PCs, modems, etc. (full time/part time)
Concern: lack of policies/procedures lead to communication/performance-
related problems
o Information sharing and knowledge management
Manage operations innovatively & reduces costs/capitalizing on new
opportunities
Web 2.0: development of a host of new services
• Social networking, video-sharing, wikis, blogs, etc. • Users can own/control data, add value
Web 3.0: expected to emerge with potential for natural language
processing, machine-based learning/reasoning, intelligent applications
• Automation
o Automatically controlled operation of a process/system/equipment by
mechanical/electronic devices
o Potential benefits include:
Speed
Better customer service
Higher quality
Flexibility in operations
o Use robots for hazardous/boring jobs
Demographic challenges
• Describe composition of workforce: education, age, percentage of population in
workforce, etc.
• Trend 1: Increasing number of women in the workforce
o More women have left traditional, nonprofessional occupations
• Trend 2: Shift toward knowledge workers
o Primarily in primary/extractive industries to service, technical, professional
o Service industries make significant contributions to national wealth today (75%)
o Workforce divided into two categories:
Information workers • Data workers – members of occupations that use, transmit,
manipulate symbolic information created by knowledge workers
• Knowledge workers – members of occupations generating,
processing, analyzing, synthesizing ideas/information
Non-information workers
• Trend 3:Educational attainment of workers
o Highest educational level attained by an individual worker/employee
group/population
o Primary/secondary education systems play key role in generating new supply of
skills needed by post-industrial society
o Corporate Council on Education identified “employability skills”
Basic academic skills, personal management skills, teamwork skills
o Some employers recognize illiteracy as serious issue & have taken proactive
action to minimize consequences
• Trend 4: Employment of older workers
o Old age crisis: refers to the social (health care) & organization (new workplace
ergonomics) challenges caused by aging population
o Hectic job scramble, post-retirement poverty
o Challenges: expanded retirement benefit pressure, work schedules, coordination
of government benefits with company benefits, retraining programs
• Trend 5: More part-time, contract, and contingent workers
o Part-time workers raise new concerns about pay inequity
“Equal pay for work of equal value” to reap benefits of increased
demand/pay for highly skilled jobs o Contract/contingent workers: freelancers (self-employed, temporary, or leased
employees) who are not part of regular workforce & are paid on project
completion basis
Contractors are more productive/efficient than in-house employees
• Freelancers do no spend time complying with company
bureaucracy, attending meetings
• Provide outsider’s fresh perspective
Cultural challenges
• Work-related attitudes
o Changing attitudes toward work/leisure
o Generational considerations
Baby boomers – work = career
Generation X – place premium on work-life balance, active participants in
decision making (“command and rule” culture)
Generation Y – may not respond well to traditional management practices
• Seek continuous learning, ongoing feedback, teamwork, up-to-
date technology, security, respect, work-life balance
o Demand for ethical conduct of business
• Ethnic diversity
o Cultural mosaic: ideal ethnic, racial, social group
• Attitudes toward governments
o Growing view: government is an economic facilitator that provides appropriate
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