Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 8e Instructor’s Manual
Chapter 9
Creating and Maintaining High-Performance Organizations
This chapter continues to build from previous chapters, while preparing students for the content
in Chapters 10 and 11. It summarizes the role of human resource management in creating an
organization that achieves a high level of performance—measured in terms such as quality, long-
term profits, and customer satisfaction.
Chapter Outline
High-Performance Work Systems
• The five elements of a high-performance organization connect to each other:
organizational structure, task design, people (selection, training, and development),
reward systems, and information systems.
• A high-performance work system achieves the organization’s goals, typically including
growth, productivity, and high profits.
Conditions That Contribute to High Performance
• Learning organizations are ones in which the culture values and supports lifelong
learning by enabling all employees to continually acquire and share knowledge.
HRM’s Contribution to High Performance
• HRM practices must fit well with one another and the organization as a whole.
HRM Technology
• Human resource departments can improve their own and their organization’s
performance by appropriately using new technology, such as automation and
collaboration.
Effectiveness of Human Resource Management
• By taking a customer-oriented approach, HRM can improve quality by defining internal
customers who use its services and determining whether it is meeting those customers’
needs.
• Using HRM audits and HR analytics to measure HRM effectiveness and analyze
specific programs or activities can determine if a program met its objectives and whether
it delivered value in an economic sense.
Learning Objectives
LO 9-1: Define high-performance work systems, and identify the elements of such a system.
LO 9-2: Summarize the outcomes of a high-performance work system.
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LO 9-3: Describe the conditions that create a high-performance work system.
LO 9-4: Explain how human resource management can contribute to high performance.
LO 9-5: Discuss the role of HRM technology in high-performance work systems.
LO 9-6: Summarize ways to measure the effectiveness of human resource management.
Society for Human Resource Management Body of Competency &
Knowledge
This chapter contains content, which may be identified within the following content areas:
• Talent Acquisition & Retention
• Employee Engagement
• Learning & Development
• Total Rewards
• Organizational Effectiveness & Development
• Workforce Management
• Employee Relations
• Technology & Data
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Business & HR Strategy
Human Resource Certification Institute’s A Guide to the HR Body
of Knowledge
This chapter contains content, which may be identified within the following content areas:
• Business Management & Strategy
• Employee and Labor Relations
• Workforce Planning and Employment
• Human Resource Development
• Compensation and Benefits
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Question Guidance to Vignettes and Discussion Questions
HR How To
Rewarding High Performance
1. A manager wants to retain workers in a customer service call center. She makes sure that
every employee receives at least a small pay increase each year, as a reward for staying
with the company. How could this manager change the rewards so they better contribute
to high performance?
2. A team of developers at a software company goes above and beyond normal work
requirements to launch an updated version of a product on schedule. The company’s
management wants to reward their performance. Choose two of the ideas listed here, and
describe how they apply to this situation.
HR Oops!
How Starbucks Recovered from a Decision Gone Wrong
1. In this situation, what is the resource that Starbucks is providing to its employees in order
to prevent future incidents like the one in Philadelphia?
2. Starbucks empowers store managers to make decisions about how to handle the people in
each store. It also defines certain values such as respect for diversity. Do you expect that
this combination leads to higher performance than if the company had a checklist for
every situation (no empowerment) or let managers set their own values (no controls)?
Explain.
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Hill Education.
should assess how these two sets of values allowed for decision making on a day-to-day
basis. This two value system also gives potential employees the ability to learn more
about the company prior to accepting or retaining employment.
Did You Know?
Only 33% of U.S. Workers Feel Engaged at Their Jobs
1. Suppose you work in the HR department of a hospital that conducts a survey to measure
employee engagement. It learns that 45 percent of nurses are engaged, and management
is happy that this exceeds the national average. Do you agree that you management
should be satisfied with this result? Why or why not?
HRM Social
Companies Should Listen as Well as Talk on Social Media
1. Suppose you work in the HR department of a manufacturing company. Your team
analyzes social-media data and learns that employees are complaining they don’t see
opportunities for career growth. Would you define this as a social-media problem or an
HR problem? Why?
2. Continuing with your role in question 1, suppose an employee writes online that your
company has no real training program, when in fact it has an online learning program,
including recommended lessons for employees at every level and in every department.
You have been asked to post a reply to this comment. Write a brief reply that you think
would present honest information, a positive image of the company, and a professional
tone.
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Copyright © 2020 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw–
Hill Education.
Answer: This is a great learning activity for students to engage with, because it addresses
real concerns that have application to business every day. Responses will vary in tone,
content, and the ultimate goal to be achieved by the post. However, students should take
the time to not only address the issue but also include ways to educate employees on the
systems already in place.
Best Practices
Data Taught KinderCare How to Build Success
1. Based on the information given, list the outcomes KinderCare was trying to achieve.
2. What kinds of data did KinderCare use to set goals and measure performance?
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 8e Instructor’s Manual
End of Chapter Questions and Cases
Thinking Ethically
Is Analyzing Employee Sentiment an Invasion of Privacy?
1. Suppose you work for an organization that is considering the use of software to analyze
employee sentiment as the company rolls out a new set of work processes. How could the
organization protect employees’ right of free consent?
2. How could the organization address employees’ right of privacy?
Review and Discussion Questions
1. What is a high-performance work system? What are its elements? Which of these
elements involve human resource management? (LO 9-1)
2. As it has become clear that HRM can help create and maintain high-performance work
systems, it appears that organizations will need two kinds of human resource
professionals. One kind focuses on identifying how HRM can contribute to high
performance. The other kind develops expertise in particular HRM functions, such as
how to administer a benefits program that complies with legal requirements. Which
aspect of HRM is more interesting to you? Why? (LO 9-2)
09-7
3. How can teamwork, empowerment, knowledge sharing, and job satisfaction contribute to
high performance? (LO 9-3)
4. If an organization can win customers, employees, or investors through deception, why
would ethical behavior contribute to high performance? (LO 9-3)
5. How can an organization promote ethical behavior among its employees? (LO 9-3)
6. Summarize how each of the following HR functions can contribute to high performance.
(LO 9-4)
a. Job design
b. Recruitment and selection
c. Training and development
d. Performance management
e. Compensation
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7. How can HRM technology make a human resource department more productive? How
can technology improve the quality of HRM decisions? (LO 9-5)
8. Why should human resource departments measure their effectiveness? What are some
ways they can go about measuring effectiveness? (LO 9-6)
Answer: Taking a customer-oriented approach, HRM can improve quality by defining
Taking Responsibility
The Container Store Continues to Put Employees First
1. Would you describe the Container Store as a high-performance organization? Why or
why not?
2. How could HR managers at the Container Store analyze the effectiveness of HRM to
ensure they are helping the company become more profitable? Would your ideas
compromise the company’s employees-first policy?
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find problem areas, HRM can improve programs that will benefit the employees and
impact the bottom line.
Managing Talent
How Adobe’s People and Rewards Contribute to High Performance
1. Would you consider Adobe a high-performance organization? Why or why not?
2. How do the practices described in this case relate to the principles of empowerment,
knowledge sharing, and employee engagement?
HR in Small Business
Tasty Catering Serves Up Employee-Friendly Culture
1. Which elements of a high-performance work system (Figure 9.1) does Tasty Catering
seem to have?
2. Drawing from the principles in this chapter, briefly recommend one other way that Tasty
Catering could maintain a high-performance work system.
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Recommended Connect Activities
Creating a High-Performance Work System
Learning Objective: 09-03 Describe the conditions that create a high-performance work system.
Activity Summary: Students will make decisions on how to develop HRM practices for a high-
performance organization.
Follow-Up Activity: The case analysis gives students an easier path to understanding the parts
of a high performing organization. In practical use, these decisions are part of a much larger
picture that includes all departments of an organization. The following article from BizTimes,
How growth-minded CEOs operate their talent management systems, does a good job of
outlining up to nine systems that impact the performance of any organization. Having students
define, prioritize, provide examples, and defend these systems will provide application of content
to real-life decision making.
Evaluating HRM Effectiveness
Learning Objective: 09-06 Summarize ways to measure the effectiveness of human resource
management.
Activity Summary: This case analysis reviews each step of the evaluation process.
Follow-Up Activity: The HR evaluation program is very specific to the company in the case
study. Class activities should expand the discussion to what businesses use to manage HR
evaluation and performance management. Consider using this list of Performance Management
Software for HR in order to read, review, and provide additional insight on the market leaders in
this industry. This works well as a guided discussion with the entire class.
Contributing to High Performance at Footlight Shoe Company
Learning Objective: 09-03 Describe the conditions that create a high-performance work system.
Activity Summary: Students will demonstrate their understanding of High Performance Work
Systems.
Follow-Up Activity: Direct students back to Learning Objective 9-3 and the four pillars that go
into HPWS. In small groups, students should discuss and present their best practices in
Teamwork/Empowerment, Knowledge Sharing, Job Satisfaction/Engagement, and Ethics. The
focus of this activity should be kept on Footlight and expanded to real-life scenarios as a follow
up.
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CHRO Conversations: Vice Chairman of Global Wealth and Investment
Management John Thiel, Merrill Lynch and SVP and Human Resources
Executive Benjamin Gilman, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch U.S. Wealth
Management
Learning Objective: 09-04 Explain how human resource management can contribute to high
performance.
Activity Summary: This video case helps students understand how certain behaviors displayed
by leaders promote an effective workplace environment.
Follow-Up Activity: The content discussed in the video case provides students with a great
jumping off point to learn more about leadership qualities. Student should research and present
their findings of the three attributes (Self Awareness, EQ, and Common Purpose) of any modern-
day business leader. While this same process could be used for other fields (civil rights, etc.),
students should tie specific actions back to the business results that were created.
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Classroom Exercises
Students may benefit from exercises that illustrate the concepts of the chapter. Use these along
with CONNECT activities.
1. Understanding High-Performance Work Systems
Instructors may engage students in a general discussion meant to support the
understanding of high-performance work systems. Review and Discussion question #1,
the Managing Talent and/or HR in Small Business may be used in class discussion format
to support understanding while providing opportunity for students to ask clarification
questions.
2. Students and HR Interests
Review and Discussion question #2 may be posed to facilitate a conversation regarding
student interest in HR. Further discussion may be on how non-HR positions may play a
role in HRM and high-performance work systems. This may assist in understanding LO
9-4.
3. Ethics
Instructors may wish to engage students in discussion concerning ethical behavior and
organizational performance. Review and Discussion question #4 may facilitate this
discussion, as well as the Thinking Ethically vignette. Students may be asked to consider
ethical behavior and profits, as well as HR’s role in supporting ethical behavior while
policing unethical behavior. Further discussion may be focused on other factors leading
to ethical behavior, such as leadership and compensation plans.
4. HRM Career Considerations
Instructors may wish to have students identify components in Chapter 9 within both the
Society for Human Resource Management Body of Competency & Knowledge and the
Human Resource Certification Institute’s A Guide to the HR Body of Knowledge.
Discussion could focus on how these chapter concepts are important to the development
of their careers and potential certification.
5. Vignette Discussions
Any of the vignettes (see above), may be employed for classroom discussion. Students
could be asked to respond as individuals or placed into groups for discussion. Individuals
and/or groups may then be asked to defend their responses and rationale when comparing
and contrasting other responses.