MODULE 3 Handouts
MODULE 3 Handouts
MODULE 3 Handouts
The scope of HRM is, indeed, very vast and wide. It includes all
activities starting from manpower planning till employee leaves the
organisation. Its scope consists of acquisition, development,
maintenance/retention, and control of human resources in the
organisation. The same forms the subject matter of HRM.
LESSON 2. IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The primary objective of HRM is to ensure the availability of a competent and willing workforce to an
organization. Beyond this, there are other objectives, too. Specifically, HRM objectives are four
folds- societal, organizational, functional, and personal.
Societal Objectives: To be ethically and socially responsible to the needs and challenges of the
while minimizing the negative impact of such demands upon the organization. The failure of
organizations to use their resources for the society’s benefit in ethical ways may lead to restrictions.
For example, the society may limit HR decisions through laws that enforce reservation in hiring and
laws that address discrimination, safety or other such areas of societal concern.
Organizational objectives: To recognize the role of HRM in bringing about organizational
effectiveness. HRM is not an end in itself. It is only a means to assist the organization with its
primary objectives. Simply stated, the department exists to serve the rest of the organization.
Personal objectives: To assist an employee in achieving their personal goals, at least insofar as
these goals enhance the individual’s contribution to the organization. Personal objectives of
employees must be met if workers are to be maintained, retained and motivated. Otherwise,
employee performance and satisfaction may decline and employees may leave the organization.
LESSON 3:
While most companies work toward avoiding mistakes caused by hiring the wrong
person for the job, the following are the common things that result from not being
able to manage human resource effectively.
The cost for that new hire to reach the same productivity level
as the one who left – which mostly involves hours of production or office
time.
2. Complacent Employees
Employees who seem to not be doing their best when it comes to their work must
have reasons. For the most part, the reason would be demotivation. Most
employees would feel demotivated having to cover for leaving employees and
waiting for the replacement to take the additional load they are doing.
Another reason may be for policies not being followed to the letter. Strict
implementation of the rules should accompany proper procedure and disciplinary
action in fairness to the violation made.
3. Discrimination Cases
Discrimination cases happen when there is a lapse on the side of management to
clearly define the boundaries for discrimination. By clearly stating it in your
personnel policy and having an employee understand the policy clearly prevents
such cases from arising out of the workplace.
5. Employee Discontent
Happens when employees feel they are being undervalued and underpaid in the
company. This is a clear indication of human resource management failure that
aims to promote satisfaction from both employee and employer. Mostly this results
from poor salary-rate analysis and review and simply not paying attention to
employee satisfaction surveys and interviews.
While there exists no sure silver bullet to avoid mistakes in managing human
resources, one easy way would be to look at your current employee satisfaction.
This can easily be done through various methods available, such as surveys and
exit interviews. Remember that retaining employees who already know the ins and
outs of your business is far better and way cheaper than going through the process
of hiring new employees and crossing fingers on the hope that they do well.
LESSON 4.
Keep in mind that many functions of HRM are also tasks of other department managers, which is what
makes this information important, despite the career path taken. Most experts agree on seven main
roles that HRM plays in organizations. These are described in the following sections.
Staffing
You need people to perform tasks and get work done in the organization. Even with the
most sophisticated machines, humans are still needed. Because of this, one of the
major tasks in HRM is staffing. Staffing involves the entire hiring process from posting
a job to negotiating a salary package. Within the staffing function, there are four main
steps:
1 Development of a staffing plan. This plan allows HRM to see how many people
they should hire based on revenue expectations.
2.Development of policies to encourage multiculturalism at
work. Multiculturalism in the workplace is becoming more and more important, as we
have many more people from a variety of backgrounds in the workforce.
3 Recruitment. This involves finding people to fill the open positions.
4 Selection. In this stage, people will be interviewed and selected, and a proper
compensation package will be negotiated. This step is followed by training, retention,
and motivation.
Every organization has policies to ensure fairness and continuity within the organization. One of
the jobs of HRM is to develop the verbiage surrounding these policies. In the development of
policies, HRM, management, and executives are involved in the process. For example, the HRM
professional will likely recognize the need for a policy or a change of policy, seek opinions on
the policy, write the policy, and then communicate that policy to employees. It is key to note
here that HR departments do not and cannot work alone. Everything they do needs to involve all
other departments in the organization. Some examples of workplace policies might be the
following:
HRM professionals need to determine that compensation is fair, meets industry standards, and is
high enough to entice people to work for the organization. Compensation includes anything the
employee receives for his or her work. In addition, HRM professionals need to make sure the pay
is comparable to what other people performing similar jobs are being paid. This involves setting
up pay systems that take into consideration the number of years with the organization, years of
experience, education, and similar aspects. Examples of employee compensation include the
following:
1. Pay
2. Health benefits
3. 401(k) (retirement plans)
4. Stock purchase plans
5. Vacation time
6. Sick leave
7. Bonuses
8. Tuition reimbursement
Retention
Once we have spent the time to hire new employees, we want to make sure they not only are
trained to do the job but also continue to grow and develop new skills in their job. This results in
higher productivity for the organization. Training is also a key component in employee
motivation. Employees who feel they are developing their skills tend to be happier in their jobs,
which results in increased employee retention. Examples of training programs might include the
following:
Human resource people must be aware of all the laws that affect the workplace. An HRM
professional might work with some of these laws:
1. Discrimination laws
2. Health-care requirements
3. Compensation requirements such as the minimum wage
4. Worker safety laws
5. Labor laws
Worker Protection
Safety is a major consideration in all organizations. Oftentimes new laws are created with the
goal of setting federal or state standards to ensure worker safety. Unions and union contracts can
also impact the requirements for worker safety in a workplace. It is up to the human resource
manager to be aware of worker protection requirements and ensure the workplace is meeting
both federal and union standards. Worker protection issues might include the following:
1. Chemical hazards
2. Heating and ventilation requirements
3. Use of “no fragrance” zones
4. Protection of private employee information
Communication
Besides these major roles, good communication skills and excellent management skills are key to
successful human resource management as well as general management.
In addition to managing internal factors, the HR manager needs to consider the outside forces at
play that may affect the organization. Outside forces, or external factors, are those things the
company has no direct control over; however, they may be things that could positively or
negatively impact human resources. External factors might include the following: