Chapter 01 – Managing Human Resources
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 6th
edition
Chapter One: Managing Human Resources
Welcome to your guide to teaching Chapter One, Managing Human Resources!
This guide will provide you with a chapter summary, learning objectives, lecture outlines, solutions to in-chapter
case questions and end of chapter discussion questions and possible responses.
Chapter One Roadmap
We hope you find each chapter of your Instructor Manual practical and useful, but also, exciting! You can
adapt the chapter text, the PowerPoint, and the video to work in an online class environment, a guided
independent study environment, or a face to face or on-ground environment.
When presenting Chapter One, have the students first read the chapter and encourage them to absorb
the “big picture” of Human Resource Management.
Use the PowerPoint for Chapter One to frame your lecture.
Have students read and discuss the variety of pedagogy boxes, which provide real world vignettes that
illustrate the concepts in the chapter. There are discussion questions suggested responses for each of
these boxes.
Have students read and review the end of chapter cases and their respective questions.
Have students validate their knowledge of the chapter by working through the discussion questions at
the end of the chapter.
Lastly, have students review, journal, or discuss the Key Vocabulary Terms at the end of the chapter.
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whole or part.
Chapter 01 – Managing Human Resources
ROADMAP: THE LECTURE
Chapter Summary
This introductory chapter provides your students with foundations of Human Resource Management. Human
Resource Management (HRM) means the policies, practices, and systems the influence employees’
behavior, attitudes and performance. This chapter discusses the practices of HRM which include the
analysis and design of work, recruiting, selection, training and development, performance management,
compensation, employee relations, and strategic support for organizational strategy. HRM does not exist
in a vacuum; it should be integrated into all strata of the organization. This chapter discusses a variety of
internal and external considerations of HRM, including the responsibilities of an HRM Department, the
skills of HRM professionals, and the ethics of HRM.
Learning Objectives for Chapter One
After reading and studying Chapter One, students will be able to:
1. Define human resource management and explain how HRM contributes to organization’s performance.
2. Identify the responsibilities of human resource departments.
3. Summarize the types of skills needed for human resource management.
4. Explain the role of supervisors in human resource management
5. Discuss ethical issues in human resource management
6. Describe typical careers in human resource management.
Lecture Outline
I. Introduction
Do human resource professionals find their work satisfying? This opening vignette shares two examples of HR
professionals in different roles, yet they find their work challenging and rewarding. The vignette clearly
identifies ways in which HR professionals add value to organizations.
Discussion Questions and Suggested Responses
1. What stands out as key responsibilites that that Koustrup and Simmons do on a regular basis which
gives them satisfaction in their positions?
They both report to top executives in the organizations which indicates the value placed on their
responsibilites, create and implement programs tied to the mission of the organizaiton, and develop
programs to find and keep the best employees.
A. Human Resource Management (HRM) means the policies, practices, and systems that influence
employees’ behavior, attitudes, and performance. Refer to Figure 1.1 in the chapter to highlight the practices
of HRM.
B. Human Resources and Company Performance
Managers and economists have traditionally seen HRM as an expense, rather than a source of value.
Economic value is usually associated with capital such as cash, equipment, technology, and facilities.
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whole or part.
Chapter 01 – Managing Human Resources
Human Resource Management, however, can be valuable! Decisions about whom to hire, what to pay, what
training to offer, and how to evaluate employee performance directly affects employees motivation and ability
to provide goods and services that customers value.
Refer to Figure 1.2 in the chapter to highlight the Types of Human Capital, and their relation to organizational
performance.
Human resources are valuable. Human resources are rare. Human resources cannot be imitated. Human
resources have no good substitutes.
C. Responsibilities of Human Resource Departments
The human resource function can be thought of as three product lines within the company.
1. Administrative services and transactions
2. Business partner services
3. Strategic partner
As indicated in Figure 1.1, Human Resource Management Practices, and reiterated in Table 1.1,
Responsibilities of HR Departments, there are several important HRM responsibilities including:
1. Analysis and design of work
2. Recruitment and Selection
3. Training and development
4. Performance Management
5. Compensation and Benefits
6. Employee Relations
7. Personnel policies
8. Employee data and information systems
9. Compliance with laws
10. Support for strategy
A. Analyzing and Designing Jobs
1. Job analysis is the process of getting detailed information about jobs.
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whole or part.
Chapter 01 – Managing Human Resources
2. Job design is the process of defining the way work will be performed and the tasks that a given
job requires.
3. In general, jobs can vary from having a narrow range of simple tasks to a broad array of
complex tasks requiring multiple skills.
B. Recruiting and Hiring Employees
1. Based on job analysis and design, an organization can determine the kinds of employees it
needs.
2. Recruitment is the process through which an organization seeks applicants for potential
employment. Selection refers to the process by which an organization attempts to identify
applicants with the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that will help
the organization achieve its goals.
3. Approaches to recruitment and selection involve a variety of alternatives such as:
a. Recruit from external sources such as Internet job postings, newspaper want ads, and
college recruiting events
b. Heavily relying on promotions from within
c. Referrals from current employees
d. Availability of people with the necessary skills
4. The selection process may focus on specific skills such as experience with a particular
programming language or type of equipment or it may focus on general abilities such as
working well with a team or find creative solutions.
C. Training and Developing Employees
1. Although organizations base hiring decisions on candidates’ existing qualifications, most
organizations provide ways for their employees to broaden or deepen their knowledge, skills,
and abilities.
2. Training is a planned effort to enable employees to learn job-related knowledge, skills, and
behavior.
3. Development involves acquiring knowledge, skills, and behavior that improve employees’ ability
to meet the challenges of a variety of new or existing jobs.
4. Table 1.2 lists the top qualities that employers say they are looking for in job candidates. Based
on the National Association of Colleges and Employers, “Job Outlooks: The Candidate Skills/
Qualities Employers Want,” available on http://www.naceweb.org, those qualities are the
following:
1. Teamwork skills
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whole or part.
Chapter 01 – Managing Human Resources
2. Decision making, problem solving
3. Planning, prioritizing tasks
4. Verbal communication skills
5. Gathering/processing information
D. Managing Performance
1. Managing human resources includes keeping track of how well employees are
performing relative to objectives such as job descriptions and goals for a particular position.
The process of ensuring employees’ activities and outputs match the organization’s goals is
called performance management.
2. The activities of performance management include specifying the tasks and outcomes of
a job that contribute to the organization’s success.
3. The HR department may be responsible for developing or obtaining questionnaires and
other devices for measuring performance.
E. Planning and Administering Pay and Benefits
1. The pay and benefits that employees earn play an important role in motivating them.
Decisions about pay and benefits also can support other aspects of an organization’s strategy.
2. Planning pay and benefits involves many decisions, often complex and based on
knowledge of a multitude of legal requirements.
3. Pay and benefits have the greatest impact when they are based on what employees
really want and need.
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distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in
whole or part.