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Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-8
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
1-1. All managers should be able to answer, What is human resources
management, and why it’s important.
1-2. The trends shaping human resource management.
1-3. New digital technologies such as mobile and social media will make
human resource management today more distributed.
1-4. To do so, the human resource managers need new competencies.
1-5. Understanding the overall plan of this book.
Discussion Questions:
1-1: Explain what HR management is and how it relates to the management process.
This item can be assigned as a Discussion Question in MyManagementLab. Student
1-2: Give examples of how HR management concepts and techniques can be of use to all
managers.
HR management concepts and techniques can help all managers to ensure that they get
results – through others. These concepts and techniques also help managers avoid common
personnel mistakes such as: hiring the wrong person; experiencing high turnover; finding
1-3: Illustrate the HR responsibilities of line and staff managers.
Line managers are someone's boss; they direct the work of subordinates in pursuit of
accomplishing the organization's basic goals. Some examples of the HR responsibilities of
line managers are: placing the right person on the job; starting new employees in the
organization (orientation); training employees for jobs that are new to them; improving the
job performance of each person; gaining creative cooperation and developing smooth
1-4: Compare the authority of line and staff managers. Give examples of each.
This item can be assigned as a Discussion Question in MyManagementLab. Student
Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-9
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
Individual and Group Activities:
1-5: Working individually or in groups, develop outlines showing how trends like
workforce diversity, technological innovation, globalization, and changes in the
nature of work have affected the college or university you are now attending.
Present in class.
The list might include items such as the growth of adult (non-traditional aged) students,
1-6: Working individually or in groups, contact the HR manager of a local bank. Ask
the HR manager how he or she is working as a strategic partner to manage
human resources, given the bank’s strategic goals and objectives. Back in class,
discuss the responses of the different HR managers.
The students should ask the HR manager to discuss how his/her role as a strategic partner
is improving the bank’s performance, and if the bank’s culture is more innovative and
1-7: Working individually or in groups, interview an HR manager; based on that
interview, write a short presentation regarding HR's role today in building a more
competitive organization.
The responses here will, of course, depend upon the organization and HR manager
interviewed. Hopefully, items such as workforce diversity, technological trends,
1-8: Working individually or in groups, bring several business publications such as
Bloomberg’s Business Week, or The Wall Street Journal to class or access them in
class via the Web. Based on their contents, compile a list entitled, “What HR
managers and departments do today.”
The students should look for articles and advertisements that deal with any of the
following topics: conducting job analyses, planning labor needs, and recruiting job
candidates; selecting job candidates; orienting, training, and developing employees;
1-9: Based on your personal experiences, list ten examples showing how you did use (or
could have used) human resource management techniques at work or school.
Depending on the degree of their work experience, students will cite a wide range of
examples, possibly including some of the following: 1) situations where they have
Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-10
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
them through human resource systems; 2) employed the services of non-traditional
workers (or been employed as a non-traditional worker); 3) developed metrics to measure
how they have added value in terms of human resource contributions; 4) kept themselves
1-10: Laurie Siegel, senior vice president of human resources for Tyco International, took
her job just after numerous charges forced the company’s previous Board of
Directors and top executives to leave the firm. Hired by new CEO Edward Breen,
Siegel had to tackle numerous difficult problems starting the moment she assumed
office. For example: she had to help hire a new management team, she had to do
something about what the outside world viewed as a culture of questionable ethics at
her company, and she had to do something about the company’s top management
compensation plan, which many felt contributed to the allegations by some that the
company’s former company officers had used the company as a sort of private ATM.
Siegel came to Tyco after a very impressive career. For example, she had been head
of executive compensation at Allied Signal, and was a graduate of the Harvard
Business School. But, as strong as her background was, she obviously had her work
cut out for her when she took the senior vice president of HR position at Tyco.
Working individually or in groups, conduct an Internet search and do library
research to answer the following questions: What human resource management-
related steps did Siegel take to help get Tyco back on the right track? Do you think
she took the appropriate steps? Why or why not? What, if anything do you suggest
she do now?
Tyco’s top executives, (the Chairman/Chief Executive as well as the CFO) had been
accused of playing fast and loose with corporate accounting and of using the company’s
coffers as personal piggy banks. Upon taking office, Breen fired the entire board of
Breen’s directive to Siegel was that her first priority be setting up corporate-governance
and compensation systems and controls, then to transition "to really driving the talent
machine." Siegel’s first step was to draft a strict company code of ethics. She then
arranged to have it taught simultaneously at a special ethics training day to every Tyco
Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-11
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
pay is limited to two times an individual’s yearly salary plus bonus. Post-handshake
As a result of the above steps, Tyco is now aiming for higher marks in ethics. It has
written and circulated a multi-page ethics policy, and hired more than 100 internal
auditors to enforce it. It has a new corporate ombudsman to address employee concerns
about ethics and policies. All of Tyco’s employees attended mandatory one-day ethics
Students will probably agree that, in general, Siegel took the appropriate steps, and the
turnaround and recovery of Tyco’s finances, profits, and stock prices are testimony to the
effectiveness of her approach. Suggestions for what Siegel should do moving forward
1-11: Appendices A and B at the end of this book list the knowledge someone studying
for the HRCI (Appendix A) or SHRM (Appendix B) certification exam needs to
have in each area of human resource management (such as Strategic Management
and Workforce Planning). In groups of several students, do four things: (1) review
Appendix A and/or B; (2) identify the material in this chapter that relates to the
Appendix A and/or B required knowledge lists; (3) write four multiple-choice
exam questions on this material that you believe would be suitable for inclusion in
the HRCI exam; and (4) if time permits, have someone from your team post your
team’s questions in front of the class, so that students in all teams can answer the
exam questions created by the other teams.
Experiential Exercise: HR and “The Profit”
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to provide practice in identifying and applying the basic
concepts of human resource management by illustrating how managers use these techniques in
their day-to-day jobs.
Required Understanding: Be thoroughly familiar with the material in this chapter, and with at
least one or two episodes of CNBC’s The Profit with Marcus Lemonis
http://www.tv.com/shows/the-profit/watch/. (Access a library of past episodes at URLs as
http://www.cnbc.com/live-tv/the-profit)
How to Set Up the Exercise/Instructions:
• Divide the class into teams of several students.
• Read this: As you may know by watching billionaire Marcus Lemonis, as he works with
actual small businesses in which he’s taken an ownership share, human resource
Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-12
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
managers need to do to be successful. For example, at Grafton Furniture, a lack of clarity
answer the following questions:
1-12: What specific HR functions (recruiting, interviewing, and so on) can you identify
Mr. Lemonis addresses on this show? Make sure to give specific examples based
on the show.
Student responses will vary but should use the information found in the text to explain
1-13: What specific HR functions can you identify as being problematical in this
company? Again, please give specific answers.
Student answers will vary but should include addressing line and staff manager’s
1-14: In terms of HR functions (such as recruiting, selections, interviewing,
compensating, appraising, and so on) what exactly would you recommend doing
to improve this company’s performance?
Student responses will vary but should use the information found in the text to explain
1-15: Present your team’s conclusions to the class.
Application Case: Jack Nelson’s Problem
1-16: What do you think was causing some of the problems in the bank home office and
branches?
There is clearly a problem with communication, and the effects are felt in the area of
employee commitment. Additional contributing factors include the lack of consistency in
1-17: Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help?
Of course it would! Since there are HR-related problems both in the home office and in
the branches, it is clear that an HR unit in the main office would help to coordinate HR
Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-13
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
1-18: What specific functions should an HR unit carry out? What HR functions would
then be carried out by supervisors and other line managers? What role should the
Internet play in the new HR organization?
There is room for quite a bit of variation in the answers to this question. Our suggested
organization would include: HR Unit: conducting job analyses, planning labor needs,
recruiting, providing advice and training in the selection process, handling orientation of
new employees, managing wage and salary administration, managing incentives and
Continuing Case: Carter Cleaning Company – Introduction
1-19: Make a list of 5 specific HR problems you think Carter Cleaning will have to grapple
with.
Potential answers could include the following:
1) Staffing the company with the right human capital by identifying the skills and
competencies that are required to perform the jobs and the type of people that should be
2) Planning and establishing operational goals and standards and developing rules and
procedures to support business goals and strategies. Failure to do so will result in a lack
3) Implementing effective performance management by setting performance standards,
offering high-quality appraisal of performance, and providing ongoing performance
4) Designing an effective compensation system that will give the company the ability to
attract, retain, and motivate a high-quality workforce, and providing appropriate wages,
5) Training and developing employees both at the management and employee level to be
able to perform the job to meet the performance expectations. This should include a new
Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-14
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
Lack of attention to this component may result in errors, increased operational costs, high
My Management Lab
Students can find the following assisted-graded writing questions at mymanagementlab.com.
Answers to these questions are graded against rubrics in the MyLab.
1-21: From a practical point of view, why is it important for all managers and future managers
to have a good command of human resource management concepts and techniques?
1-22: Think of some companies that you are familiar with or that you’ve read about where you
think the human resource managers have been successful in “adding value.” What do the
HR managers do to lead you to your conclusion?
Key Terms:
Organization – A group consisting of people with formally assigned roles who work together to
achieve the organization’s goals.
Manager – Someone who is responsible for accomplishing the organization’s goals, and who
does so by managing the efforts of the organization’s people.
Managing – To perform five basic functions: planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and
controlling.
Management Process – To perform the five basic functions: planning, organizing, staffing,
leading, and controlling.
Human Resource Management (HRM) – The process of acquiring, training, appraising, and
compensating employees, and of attending to their labor relations, health and safety, and fairness
concerns.
Authority – The right to make decisions, to direct the work of others, and to give orders.
Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management 1-15
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
Line Authority – Traditionally gives managers the right to issue orders to other managers or
employees.
Staff Authority – Gives a manager the right to advise other managers or employees.
Line Manager – A manager who is authorized to direct the work of subordinates and is
responsible for accomplishing the organization’s tasks.
Staff Manager – A manager who assists and advises line managers.
Strategic Human Resource Management – Formulating and executing human resource
policies and practices that produce the employee competencies and behaviors the company needs
to achieve its strategic aims.
Employment Engagement – The extent to which an organization’s employees are
psychologically involved in, connected to, and committed to getting their jobs done.
Ethics – The principles of conduct governing an individual or a group; specifically, the standards
you use to decide what your conduct should be.
