978-1305115248 Chapter 1 Solution Manual Part 1

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Chapter 1

HR Roles, Strategy, and Planning

Chapter Overview

This chapter provides an overview of Human Resource Management by describing twelve

important considerations:

HR as Organizational Core Competency

HR Management as Organizational Contributor

Organizational Ethics and HR Management

Current and Future HR Management Challenges

Managing HR in Organizations

HR Management Roles

HR Management Competencies and Careers

Strategy and HR

Planning for External Workforce Availability

Forecasting HR Supply and Demand

Measuring Effectiveness of HR and Human Capital

Human Resources Audits

Many organizations today are looking at the management of human capital in their organizations.

The importance of measuring the value of human capital and viewing human resources as a core

competency for an organization is explored in the beginning of this chapter. A conceptual model

is presented that shows that HR management is composed of seven interlinked activities that are

significantly impacted by external forces (legal, economic, technological, global, environmental,

cultural/geographic, political, and social). These seven activities are identified and briefly

described:

HR Strategy and Planning

Equal employment opportunity

Staffing

Talent management and development

Rewards

Risk management and worker protection

Employee and labor relations

HR can contribute to organizational results in many ways. Two of the areas of contribution

include organizational culture and organizational productivity. HR management’s contributions

to each of these areas are explored.

Managing HR in organizations is discussed next. All managers engage in HR management but

they are not expected to know the details about HR regulations and HR systems that one would

expect from an HR professional. Smaller organizations (less than 100) typically do not have an

HR department and the owner or another manager usually takes care of HR issues. It is important

that there is cooperation between the operating managers and the HR staff for HR efforts to

succeed. Some of the common negative and positive views of HR are discussed.

The various roles that HR management may undertake are then described and include the

administrative, the operational and employee advocate, and the strategic roles. Next, the HR

competencies needed by all HR professionals and senior HR leaders are identified. Some

discussion of HR careers and various types of certification within the field of HR are also

included.

Current and future HR management challenges are then identified and explored. These include

organizational cost pressures; job changes; skill shortages; globalization of organizations and

HR; workforce demographics and diversity; HR technology; and measuring HR impact through

metrics.

Next, organizational ethics and HR is discussed. The relationship between ethics and

organizational culture and HR’s role in organizational ethics are covered.

This is followed by a discussion of organizational strategic planning including strategy

formulation, the strategic planning process, strategic competencies for HR professionals, and

operationalizing HR management strategies.

Environmental analysis, including both internal and external factors, is presented followed by

global competitiveness and strategic HR issues. Then some strategic challenges are presented:

managing a talent surplus, legal considerations for workforce reductions, and managing a talent

shortage.

The chapter closes with measuring effectiveness of HR initiatives. The development and use of

HR metrics is explored and specific strategic HR effectiveness tools such as benchmarking, the

balanced scorecard, and HR audits are discussed.

Chapter Outline

I. What is Human Resource Management?

Human resource (HR) management is designing formal systems in an organization to manage

human talent for accomplishing organizational goals. Whether a big company or a small

nonprofit organization, those employees must be paid, which means an appropriate and legal

A. Why Organizations Need HR Management

Despite the obvious differences between large and small organizations, the same HR issues

must be dealt with in every organization. In a sense every manager in an organization is an

HR manager. However, it is unrealistic to expect a nursing supervisor to know about the

B. Managing Human Resources in Organizations

Human Resources/human capital who work in organizations may have valuable contributions

they can make to the organization’s mission. But these contributions will occur only if people

In the United States and worldwide, small businesses employ more than half of all private-

sector employees and generate many new jobs each year. In surveys over several years by the

U.S. Small Business Association (SBA), the issues identified as significant concerns in small

organizations were consistent:

Not having enough qualified workers

Payroll taxes

All these concerns have an HR focus, especially when governmental compliance with

Other HR positions are added as specialists as the company grows larger. However, for HR to

be most useful it must remain firmly attached to the operating management of the

organization.

C. Human Resources as a Core Competency

The development and implementation of specific strategies must be based on the areas of

strength in an organization. Referred to as core competencies, those strengths are the

II. Productivity

In its most basic sense, productivity is a measure of the quantity and quality of work done,

considering the cost of the resources used. A useful way to measure the productivity of a

A. Improving Productivity

Productivity at the organizational level ultimately affects profitability and competitiveness in

a for-profit organization and total costs in a not-for-profit organization. Perhaps of all the

resources used in organizations, the ones most closely scrutinized are human resources. Many

HR management efforts are designed to enhance productivity. Among the major ways to

increase employee productivity are:

Organizational restructuring involves eliminating layers of management and changing

Redesigning work often involves having fewer employees who perform multiple job

Aligning HR activities means making HR efforts consistent with organizational efforts

to improve productivity. This alignment includes ensuring that staffing, training and

B. Organizational Culture

Organizational culture consists of the shared values and beliefs that give members of an

organization meaning and provide them with rules for behavior. These values are inherent in

The culture of an organization is seen in the norms of expected behaviors, values,

philosophies, rituals, and symbols used by its employees. Culture evolves over a period of

Culture is important because it tells people how to behave (or not to behave). It is relatively

constant and enduring over time. Newcomers learn the culture from the senior employees;

III. HR Management Functions

HR management is designing the formal systems that are used to manage people in a work

organization. Such systems need to be formal, that is agreed upon and written down for all to see.

Considering the areas where HR typically has to have formal systems yields seven interlocking

functions (Figure 1-1). These functions take place in a unique organizational format that is

IV. Roles for Human Resource Departments

If an organization has a formal HR group there are typically three different roles that group

might play in the organization. The mix of roles is:

Administrative—focusing on clerical administration and recordkeeping, including essential

Operational and employee advocate—managing most HR activities in keeping with the

employee “champion” for employee issues and concerns

Strategic—helping to define the business strategy relative to human capital and its

Although traditionally administrative role has been the dominant role for HR, there is a growing

emphasis on the operational and employee advocate role is growing in most organizations. The

strategic role requires that the HR team has the ability and orientation to contribute to strategic

Some HR administrative functions can be outsourced to vendors. Outsourcing of HR

administrative activities has grown dramatically in HR areas such as employee assistance

HR has been viewed as the “employee advocate” in some organizations. Employee advocacy

In the strategic role, HR is proactive in addressing business realities, focusing on future business

V. Human Resources Management Challenges

As the field of HR management evolves a challenging environment provides pressure for even

Competition keeps pressure on business organizations to keep costs down so that prices will not

A. Competition/Job Changes

An overriding theme facing managers and organizations is to operate in a “cost-less” mode,

which means continually looking for ways to reduce costs of all types—financial, operations,

equipment, and labor. Pressures from global competitors have forced many U.S. firms to:

Close facilities

Use international outsourcing

Increase productivity

Various regions of the United States face significant workforce shortages because of an

inadequate supply of workers with the skills needed to perform the emerging new jobs. It may

B. Global Influences

Critics of globalization cite the extremely low wage rates paid by some international firms

and the substandard working conditions that exist in some underdeveloped countries. Various

advocacy groups have accused global firms of being “sweatshop employers.” As a result,

C. A Changing Workforce

The U.S. workforce is more diverse racially and ethnically, more women are in it than ever

before, and the average age of its members is increasing. As a result of these demographic

For many workers in the United States, balancing the demands of family and work is a

significant challenge. Employers have had to respond to work/family concerns in order to

In many of the more economically developed countries, the population is aging, resulting in a

Contingent workers (temporary workers, independent contractors, leased employees, and part-

timers) now represent about one-fourth of the U.S. workforce. The number of contingent

Another reason for the increased use of contingent workers is that it may reduce legal liability

D. HR Technology

Using technology to support HR activities can increase the efficiency of the administrative

Technology can be used to support every function within human resource management.

Recruiting and selection processes have changed perhaps the most dramatically with

Training is now conducted with the aid of videos, podcasts, Web-enabled training

Employee self-service has simplified benefit enrollment and administration by allowing

Succession planning and career developments are enhanced with real-time information

One of the most important ways in which technology can contribute to organizational

VI. Organizational Ethics and Human Resource Management

Closely linked with the strategic role of HR is the way managers and HR professionals influence

Attention to ethics has grown in the past few years, as evidenced by the corporate scandals at

numerous financial and investment firms in the United States and globally. These scandals

When the following four elements of ethics programs exist, ethical behavior is more likely to

occur:

A written code of ethics and standards of conduct

VII. Human Resources Management Competencies and Careers

The transformation of HR toward being more strategic and professional has implications for the

competencies needed. HR professionals at all levels need the following:

Strategic knowledge and impact

Technology knowledge and usage abilities

A variety of jobs exists within the HR career field, ranging from executive to clerical. As an

organization grows large enough to need someone to focus primarily on HR activities, the role of

A. Human Resource Professionalism and Certification

The broad range of issues faced by HR professionals has made involvement in professional

associations and organizations important.

For HR generalists, the largest organization is the Society for Human Resource

Public-sector HR professionals tend to be concentrated in the International Personnel

Two other prominent specialized HR organizations are:

oThe World atWork Association

The most widely known HR certifications are the Professional in Human Resources (PHR)

The World atWork Association has certifications emphasizing compensation and benefits.

The four certifications are as follows:

Certified Compensation Professional (CCP)

Certified Work-Life Professional (CWLP)