Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Case Notes
Chapter 1: The Evolution of HRM and HRIS
Position Description and Specification for an HRIS Administrator
Case Summary
This case examines an actual job description for an HRIS Administrator. The job description
highlights the essential duties of the role as well as the requirements and qualification of the role.
Examining this job description allows the student to draw connections between the role of HRIS
Case Analysis
One way to assess the nature and importance of a particular function or position in an organization
is to examine the job description and job specifications for this position, as they tell us what
activities, duties, and tasks are involved in the job as well as what knowledge, skills, and abilities
(KSA) are required to perform the job. This is an actual job description that can be analyzed to
Sample Answers to Case Questions
1. How does this position help the HR function become a strategic partner of the organization?
There are multiple aspects of this position description that help the HR function become a
strategic partner. You can pick almost any one of the responsibilities from the list and
indicate that this responsibility would not be part of the job description for HR in a
“caretaker” passive role, whereas a strategic partner is a much more active role. For
Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
example, consider the following:
● Ensures data integrity in both personnel files and the online human resource
information system. Without data integrity, there would be no way to measure the
contribution of the firm’s human capital to the “bottom line,” which is a critical
part of strategic planning.
● Works with end users and business managers to understand business processes
and determine how to use the system to meet those needs. These activities are
closely linked to the idea of a partnership between HR and the operationalization
of the strategic plan of the company. Feedback from these partnerships could have
major effects on the strategic planning process.
2. From the position description, identify the traditional, transactional, and transformational HR
activities that this position is involved with.
Transactional
● Ensures data integrity in both personnel files and the online human resource
information system
Traditional
● Supervises the human resources information management team
● Organizes and manages personnel file audits to ensure compliance with all
regulations, policies, procedures, and guidelines for records management
● Ensures security of the HRIS and time and attendance system
Transformational
Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
● Works with end users and business managers to understand business processes
and determine how to use the system to meet those needs
3. Using the key responsibilities identified for this position, explain why and how the HRIS
function plays a pivotal role in the organizational model as described in this chapter.
Actually, all of the responsibilities can be related to the parts of the organizational model,
although some students may disagree with other students’ allocations. This could be a
good class project by having students work in groups for 10–15 min to allocate all of the