Unit 2:

2.1: Functions and evolution of HR management

Human Resource Management:
It is a management function that involves using and developing people within a
business to meets its organizational objectives.

It involves roles such as:

- Workforce planning

- Recruitment, selection, and induction

- Training and selection of sta

- Dismissal and redudancy

- Reviewing and remuneration packages

- Looking after employee needs

There are 2 types of workforce planning:

1. Short-term: deals with existing and upcoming demands of the organization.

2. Long-term: works on human resource needs of the business in the foreseeable

future.

Workforce planning can be acheived by looking at:

- Historical data and ternds to

- Sales and income levels

- Labour turnover rates

- Felxibility and workload of sta

- Demographic changes

Labour turnover:
It is caused by CLAMPS:

- C: challenge

- L: location

- A: advancement

- M: money

- P: presitge

- S: security

Low labour turnover:

- managers have recruited he right people

- Employees are content and motivated

- Have job satisfaction

High labour turnover:

- less job satisfaction

- Better job opportunities and remuneration packages

- Loss of productivity

- Add to the costs of recruiting and training of new employees

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 Sta retention
High when:

- workers are motivated

- Positive organization culture

- Regular training of sta for professional and personal development

- Workers feel valued

- Good leadership

Internal and external factors a ecting HR planning:

External:

1. Demographic:

- Net birth rate

- Net migration rate

- Retirement age

- Women in the workforce

- Ageing population: increased dependant population, reduced labour mobility,

changes in consumption patterns, changes in employment patterns

2. Changes in labour mobility:

- Geographic mobility which is caused due to friends and family ties, relocation
costs, fear of the unknown, cost of living, language and cultural di erences.

- Occupational mobility:

• Greater with acquired attributes of workers

• Younger people are more mobile

• Less mobile when highly specialised

• Discrimination a ects mobility

New communication technologies:

Recruitment: the use of online application forms to speed up communication
and reduce costs

Meetings: Businesses with branches in di erent location use technology to

communicate

Appraisals: nding easier apps to format names

Online training courses: cheaper than o the job courses with specialist trainees.

Felxitime and teleworking: felxible work timings have increased productivity

Recruitment and selection:

1. Job analysis is carried out: involves scrutinising the di erent components of a
job to determine what the job entails.

2. Job description and person speci cation are created to:

- verify the skills and training needed for the job

- quali cations

- rewards needed to recruit and retain a worker

3. Job advertisement is done: to attract potential customers for application

Job description: outlines the details of a speci c job. Should be felxible so that
employees arent restricted to limited tasks.

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 Job speci cation: pro les the ideal candidate. Lists the personal attributes of the
employee.

Factors to be considered while designing a good job advertisement:

- T: truthful

- R: relevant

- A: accurate (description must be precise)

- P: positive

- S: short

The application process:

Application form: a standardised form produced by the business for selecting
appropriate applicants for a job. Employers can make the form according to their
needs.

CV: allows employers to see what the candidate has achieved and judge
whether they meet requirements.

Cover letter: written by the applicant, stating which position theyre applying for
and why they should get it. Allows managers to browse through applications
without reading all CVs in detail.

The selection process:

Candidates are shortlisted

They are matched with job speci cation and then invited for interviews.

Interviews:
Employers get a better idea of what the applicant Is like and if they are suitable
for the job and will t in.

Can be done through:

- Video conferencing

- Telephone interviews

- Face to face

- Group interviews

Purpose to nd out and appoint the best applicant for the job.

Categories of questions asked:

- Behavioural based questions

- Situational based questions

Is very time consuming.

May be unreliable.

Testing:
Psychometric tests: to nd out abou their level of motivation and attitude.

Aptitude tests: to nd out the ability and skills of potential employees.

Intelligence tests: numeracy, reasoning, literacym and general knwoledge.

Trade tests: to examine candidate’s skills in a speci c profession.

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 References:
Written statements about applicant from an independent source like previous
employer.

Contract of employment:
Signed contract of employment with written statement of the terms and
conditions of employement.

Induction:
Helping new recruits settle into the organization

Internal recruitement:
When employees who are already part of the organization ll the vacant position.

Advantages:-

- Cost e ective: cheaper and quicker to recruit already existing employees.

- Less down-time: already familiar with culture of the org and how it works. Settle
quicker into the role.

- Less risk: already know the employees personal attributes

- Motivational: Promotional opportunities available. Also encourages loyalty.

Disadvantages:-

- Fewer applicants: limited number of employees

- Dead Wood: org’s employees may not have required skills.

- Time consuming: another vacancy arises

- Internal politics: jealousy and envy amongst employees.

External recruitment:
Hiring people from outside the business org.

Done through:

- Newspaper advertising

- Specialist trade publications

- Internet advertising

- Commercial employment agencies

- Job centres

- Headhunting

- University visits

- Employee referrals

Advantages:

- New ideas and ways of thinking brought in

- Wider range of experiences

- Larger pool of applicants

Disadvantages:

- Risky

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 - Time-consuming

- Expensive

Training:
Providing opportunities to workers to acquire employment related opportunities
and skills.

Objectives:

- enhance e ciency and e ectiveness

- Improve quality of work

- Develop and multiskilled and productive workforce

- Help adapt to change

- Facilitate career and personal development

Types of training:
1. On-the-job

2. O -the-job

3. Cognitive

4. Behavioural

Appraisals
Dismissal and Redundancies:
Dismissal: termination of employment contract due to incompetence or breach
of employment contract.

Constructive dismissal: when the employee is forced into resigning because the
employer has made it di cult for them to continue w the job.

Redundancies: When the employer can no longer a ors the employee so the
employee is layed o .

• Voluntary redundancy

• Compulsory redundancy

• Redploy

Changing employment patterns

Outsourcing, O shoring, Reshoring
Outsourcing is the practice of transferring internal business activities to external
rms or poeple as a method of reducing costs.

• Advantages:

- Specialists are contracted: high quality of work

- Subcontracted work is provided at competitive rates: the business has options

to control its costs.

- Helps reduce labour costs because outsourced employees dont work for the org

- Business can concentrate on its core activities

- Workforce exibility is improved

• Disadvantages:

- Con ict about the quality

- External parties have large in uence over the reputation

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 - Outsourcing can initially cause redundancies in the business.

- Unethical practices

O shoring is the pratice of relocating business processes and activities aborad.

• Advantages:

- help avoid import taxes imposed on the sale of products

- Help avoid taxes imposed on raw materials

- Help get around any other protectionist measures imposed by the government

• Disadvantages:

- A ected by external envrionment

- Quality management issues.

Reshoring: When a business transfers its activities back to its home country.

• Reasons for reshoring:

- Unethical practices have led to bad media coverage

- Transportation costs are rising

- Market changes

- DOmestic government’s support.

2.2: Organizational Structure

Delegation and span of control:
Delegation is when a line manager entrusts and empowers sta by passing on
control and authority to them, so that they can complete a task.

• The degree of control granted depends on:

- M: manager

- O: organizational culture

- S: subordinate

- T: task

Span of control: number of subordinates directly overseen by a manager.

• Wide span of control:

• Narrow span of control:

Levels of heirarchy:
The person directly above an employee on the next heirarchical level is known
as the line manager.

Chain of command:
Refers to the formal line of authority through which orders are passed down in
an organization.

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 Delayering:
Process of removing one or more laters from a heirarchy to atten the
organizational structure.

Advantages:

• Reduced Costs

• Improved speed of communication

• Encourages delegation and empowerment

Disadvantages:

• Creates anxiety and a sense of insecurity

• Overloads sta

• Decision making takes longer because of wider span of control

Bureaucracy:
Is the extension of tasks that are governed by o ocial administrative and formal
rules of an organization.

Disadvantages:

• Frequent lling out of forms

• Sta working in multipple departments have to report to multiple managers

• Too many committes are set up

• Long chain of command

Centralization and decentralization:

Centralized: when the decision is made by a very small group of people
generally in senior management.

Decentralized: decision making authority and responsibilities are shared with

others.

Organizational structure:
Diagrammatic represntation of a rm’s formal structure.

Flat and tall structures:

Flat: Fewer levels of heirarchy and wider span of contol

Tall: many levels in heirarchy and narrow span of control

Matrix structure:
Flexible organization of employees from di erent departments within an
organization temporarily working on a particular project.

Handy’s Shamrock organization:

Core sta

Peripheral sta

Outsourced workers.

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