THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FUNCTION



THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FUNCTION- suggested answers

Activity 5.1: The strategic role of HRM

1. What is HRM?

Human Resource Management is basically managing the relationships between all human resources within an organisation. Specifically, HRM is a series of activities focused on obtaining, training and maintaining an efficient and effective workforce that is capable of achieving organisational goals and objectives. For eg. Blah blah give an example---Recruitment and selction- the preparation of an interview process, advertising the position, the screening of applications, the interview itself. Hiring. Induction.

2. Personnel Manager (pre- 1990’s) ( Human Resource Manager (1990’s- present)

Personnel managers were seen as of low importance and therefore the responsibilities allocated to these managers were limited and generally covered basic essential functions, such as payroll, overseeing workers. Making sure workers were on time/ completing tasks. The limited responsibility/decision making was reflected by the manager’s position in the corporate hierarchy.

In the present Human Resource Managers are valued much higher as they are seen as an integral component of maintaining a workforce that is most suited to the organisation’s culture, structure, goals and objectives. In particular, recruitment of the most compatible employee can be seen as minimizing the costs perhaps associated with hiring unsuitable workers.

3. The HRM functional structure would most likely be split into different HR areas such recruitment, employee relations, termination, appraisal etc. These HR managers would from each division report to the general HR managers who would then report to the Managing director or CEO. It has maintained a high position in the corporate hierarchy because of its organisation’s perceived importance in attaining the business’ goals and objectives.

4. HRM strategies facilitate the achievement of an organisation’s goals and objectives by aligning their activities and plans and also managing the employees with these organisational targets.

5. Obtaining/ hiring, training and maintaining an efficient workforce means that at every divisional area ie recruitment, or training, need to have in place the correct allocation of resources, the establishment of priorities and action steps to maximise the success of these areas. For eg. Organisations acknowledge the competitive edge that can be gained over competitors from high quality training and professional development of employees. Well trained employees provides stability for an organisation.

Attract ( Train ( Retain.

6. The amount of costs can be reduced by hiring the most suitable employees, those that work hard, trustworthy etc. Organisations see this as an investment in human capital.

Organisations understand the importance of complying with legislation. For EEO and AA abolished the employers ability to discriminate based on race, gender, culture, age etc.

HRM’s also need to mange the human capital proficiently when new laws and legislations arise. Mangers need to communicate the changes to employees even if there is negative feedback from employees, managers must know how to minimise any detrimental actions the employees may take.

Activity 5.2: Australian Human Resource Institute - Newspaper (pg 131-132)

1. What function does the article suggest that HR fulfills?

Fulfills function of increasing emphasis on organisation focus and value development/ creation.

2. Why does the author suggest that there has been a shift in attitude from HR as a support function to a department with more significant responsibilities within the organisation.

HR is seen as increasingly important because it is now recognized that employees are an invaluable resource that will give more value if they aligned to the organisation’s objectives.

There is a shift in the recognition

3. What role does the Australian Human Resource Institute play in ensuring the profile of HR remains high?

4. Do you believe that being a human resource professional is just about enjoying working with people? Explain your answer.

Activity 5.3: Human Resource Management Roles and Responsibilities (pg 134)

1. Who does the responsibility of managing people on day-to-day basis fall to and why?

Managed directly by line managers whose role resembles that of a personnel manager in ensuring that general everyday procedures are followed and carried out.

2. In what circumstances could an employee expect the HR manager to take an active role in their career? List at least four separate occasions?

Recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, change management.

3. What does the term ‘human resource planning’ mean? What (if any) is its relationship to strategic planning?

The process of ensuring that the right number of employees are in the right place or the proportionate distribution of human resources. Link to ‘efficiency’ (best uses of resources of the organisation) and ‘effectiveness’ (choosing appropriate objectives and achieving them.

4. Outline all the functions the HR manager performs as part of the HRM role.

5. The HRM’s responsibilities

a. Human Resource Planning

b. Recruitment and Selection

c. Training and Development

d. Retention and Maintenance

e. Performance Management

f. Termination Management

g. Industrial Relations & Legislative issues

h. Occupational Health and Safety

i. Change Management

j. Policy and Procedure Devenopment

6. Explain the link between human resource management and chaNgg management.

Human resource management assumes a kEy role in change management because it assists with restructuring, the implementation of new policies and procedures and the communication of this change.

Activity 5.4: Employee and employer expectations (pg 136)

1. What circumstances could lead to a prospective employee having preconceived ideas about a prospective employer?

The organisation’s reputation, or knowledge of the organisation through secondary sources such as industry contacts, media coverage, employment advertisements and interviews.

2. At what point do formal expectations and obligations between employee and employer begin?

When an offer of employment is received and a contract signed.

3. How are employee expectations linked to job satisfaction and motivation?

The degree to which an employee’s expectations have been met will influence the level of job satisfaction and motivation they experience.

4. Is it reasonable for an employer to have expectations of an employee? Justify your response.

Yes, since an employment contract establishes reciprocal terms, conditions and rights and responsibilities, both employees and employers are allowed to have expectations of each other.

5. Do you think that part-time and casual employees would have different expectations than full-time employees? Explain your answer.

Yes, they would have different expectations about hours, wages and career objectives.

Activity 5.5: Job Satisfaction (pg 137)

1. ‘Job satisfaction is not constant; it changes depending on an employee’s economic and social circumstances.’ Explain what this statement means and illustrate your answer with examples from the article.

This statement refers to the fact that the personal circumstances of each employee will determine what is required by their employer to keep them satisfied. For example, an employee without a family may view the possibility of promotion and career growth as essential to job satisfaction while and employee with a family might view flexibility in working hours and a healthy balance between the demands of work and family as the main determining factor behind job satisfaction.

2. The culture of Funtastic is such that employees are happy to meet extra work demands. What has the organisation done in order to ensure its employees have job satisfaction?

Funtastic has introduced a more flexible working environment to compensate for increased working hours during peak periods.

3. Office Team cite job security and a balance between work and family life as important factors influencing employee job employee satisfaction. List four other factors that are identified. Are they more or less important? Explain your answer.

Career path, culture of the organisation, flexible hours, career development, remuneration, ability to work at home. The importance of these factors is relative to the personal circumstances, wants and needs of each individual employee.

4. What role would HRM have played in trying to meet the employee’s needs at Funtastic, based on the information you have read in the article and earlier in the chapter?

HRM would have determined how to increase the satisfaction and ensuing productivity of their employees by researching and interviewing to determine their needs.

5. OfficeTeam discovered that employees believe that companies should have policies and programs that help them balance work and personal time. If this expectation was important to an individual employee but not met, would there be any impact on their job satisfaction? Why, or why not?

Yes. The relationship between employer and employee is supposed to be reciprocal (‘benefits each other’) and if the needs of the employee are not being met they will not feel an intrinsic desire to satisfy the needs of the company. Consequently, the worker may become increasingly frustrated and their loyalty and productivity may drop

Theories of Motivation

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

One of the most well-known theories. The hierarchy of needs and wants begins from the most basic of needs, physiological (lower-order needs) and moves up to self-actualisation (higher-order needs). Once the needs are satisfied on one level they are no longer motivators and so the individual moves up to the next needs of the hierarchy. Here are examples of each level in the context of HR:

Physiological: the most basic of human needs and relates to the need for food, shelter and air to breathe, e.g. pay a competitive salary and provide an acceptable work environment.

Safety: a desire by people for safety, security and to be free from hazards and danger e.g. providing job security and a safe working environment.

Activity 5.8: Corporate Governance, ethical and socially responsible management

1. Define the term ‘corporate governance’ in your own words.

Corporate governance is the way in which companies are led. It has an impact on the setting and achieving of company goals, the monitoring and assessment of risk and the optimisation of performance.

2. The HR department of a large organisation recently conducted a survey of employees regarding the organisation’s ethical standards. When asked about using office stationary for personal use 94 per cent of the organisations 400 employees said it was acceptable to do this. Discuss the current state of ethical standards in this organisation and make recommendations about possible action the organisation might need to take.

Clearly there is a widespread breakdown of business ethics amongst the company’s employees. A code of ethics which clearly identifies what behaviour is acceptable and unacceptable within the organisation needs to be conceived and implemented with the help of the human resource department. Due to the profoundly widespread nature of the problem there may be some serious problems regarding the nature of employer and employee relationships. If employees feel as though they are being exploited by management they will be able to justify compensating for this by taking stationary. In this case the company would need to look at their treatment of employees. Another cause of such widespread unethical behaviour may be that the company does not have good ethical standards in its corporate governance or its managers do not model ethical behaviour and, therefore, employees are modeling like/similar behaviour. If the above two factors are not an issue then the human resource department simply needs to communicate more effectively what is expected of their employees.

3. Charlotte Hunt is the Managing Director of a large pet food company. Recently her company has established a code of ethics, which it has published on their website. Charlotte, however, regularly uses her office expense account to entertain personal friends and buy herself ‘little presents’. Charlotte is note behaving in the manner expected of someone in a senior management position. Why not? Explain your answer.

It is expected that top management should model the ethical behaviour desired by the company thus setting up a culture where ethical behaviour is the norm. If this is not the case, the company is exposed as hypocritical.

4. What positive effects could good corporate governance, ethical and socially responsible management have on an organisation? Demonstrate your understanding by using examples from the text.

Since it directly refers to the direction and management of companies, good corporate governance is an indispensable ingredient in the efficient, successful and responsible running of a company. Corporate governance should establish a level of transparency and accountability which, in turn, links in with ethical and socially responsible management. By establishing and modeling ethical codes of conduct and maintaining high standards of social responsibility, management can establish dedicated and trustworthy employees and increase community, consumer and stakeholder trust.

5. What is the role of HRM in establishing ethical, socially responsible practices within an organisation?

Human resource management can assist in developing the code of ethics, policies and procedures and ensuring that ethical standards are incorporated into company practices. It would be the role of the HR manager to interview an employee accused of unethical behaviour and document the incident, possibly terminate their contract.

Company statements about social responsibility are typically developed by an organisation’s public relations department and are in line with the policies and procedures developed as part of human resource management.

Chapter Review Questions pg 149

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