HRM Courses

Landmarks in the HRM evolution

An organization’s labor force  people working in organization  specific skill and
knowledge  different people  different perceptions, needs and desires  impossible to
immediately win everybody’s sustainable adhesion

THEORETICAL research on HRM  employees could provide a competitive advantage

 HRM practice

 HRM Theoretical approach: research on the importance of employees for the

organization prosperity  concepts and theories
 HRM practical approach: becoming aware od the employees’ impact in real life
situation  issues/ sensitive situations

Early Evolution
 Tribal leaders selection (passing of knowledge/training)
 China employees’ screening tests
 Ancient Greek and Babylonian civilizations and the earliest form of industrial
education/ apprentice system
 Managing Slaves: sold and purchased; remuneration (food, shelter); non-
compliance with the orders of masters ( punishment)
 Managing Serfs: agricultural operations; remuneration (money; meager amount as
wages); additional food/money for more productivity
 Managing Indentured Labour: had to abide by the terms and conditions mutually
agreed protected by law; remuneration ( low wages); broad policy and direction by
local managers)
 Production of goods was done mainly by skilled artisans and craftsmen
 Industrial Revolution (Great Britain, 1760-1840)
Cottage industry  factory production
(unmarried women, children, migrant workers  demand for labor pulled
population)
 End of XIX century: Ford Model T
Owner = holder of the capital + organizer of the work
INTUITION, TRADITION, EXPERIENCE
o Activities took place by repetitive attempts
o No scheduling
o No previous training
o Problems where dealt as they appeared

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 Prosperity Stage (1880-1940)

USAopportunities, good-paying industrial jobs  rise of emigration

F.W. Taylor’s (1856-1915) Scientific Management:

1. Evaluate a task by analyzing its parts
2. Select employees with appropriate skills for a task
3. Provide workers with incentives & training to do the task
4. Use science to plan how workers perform their jobs

 Paternalistic approach (employees as human beings)

Early HRM techniques:

 TRAINING: teaching English

 Housing
 INCENTIVES & REWARD  Medical Care
However: Labor union pressure; hazardous tasks, long hours, unhealthy working
conditions

Between the two world wars:

 Unions & Legislation: collective negotiations; work agreements; resolution of the
employees’ claims
 Large number of soldiers: employment of large number of women = main work
force
 Hawthorne productivity studies: MAIN FINDING = people work harder and
perform better when they are participants in an experiment
 Behavioral science: behaviors are the result of experience

The Human Relations Movement; Abrahem Maslow (1908-1970); Douglas McGregor

(1906-1970)

After the WW II
 Development stage (1950): recruitment, remuneration
 Maturity Stage (1960-70): selection, training, evaluation; work legislation
 HRM and SHRM (1980)

Each time has its own reality

 Technological advance
 Nature of work (manual/clerical workers  knowledge workers)
 Globalization  new markets

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 Exporting jobs  outsourcing/ offshoring/ employee leasing

 Workforce demographics  more diverse (age, gender, nationality, believes)

Scope of PM is limited and of HRM is wider.

Nowadays
People are our most valuable asset: cliché, not true.
PARADOX: many employees remain undervalued, under-trained, underused, poorly
motivated  not perform at their real potential.

CHALLENGE

GENERAL MANAGEMENT  restricting its interests to people  HR Management

(holistic, interdisciplinary, strategy & coherent)
HRM deals with:

 Design of formal systems in an organization to ensure the effective and efficient use
of human talent while meeting organizational goals
 Bringing people in the organization  help them perform  compensating for their
labor  solving problems

Managers
Line Managers: direct the work of subordinates; responsible for accomplishing the
organization’s tasks
Staff Manager: assists and advises line managers
HR manager = STAFF MANAGER

 Line Function (in his own debt)

 Coordinative function (personnel)
 Staff function (assists and advises)

Management Process
 Forecasting
 Planning (Line Management issue)

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Human Resources Planning helps:

1. Effectively use human resource throughout the organization
2. Reduce wastage of manpower + anticipating & controlling HR cost
3. Facilitates career succession planning (replace employee)
 Organizing
 Staffing
The organizations: designing jobs/ teams, developing skillful employees, identifying
approaches for improving their performance, rewarding their success.
HRM issues
Relevant for the LINE managers
 Leading
 Controlling

Recruitment Process
Hiring need  vacancy (employee leaves organization or expansion and reorganization)

 Doing away with the work altogether

 Job enrichment: vertical expansion of the roles, responsibilities, authority and
activities along with the different hierarchical levels
 Job enlargement: horizontal expansion of duties and tasks
 Rethink the structure of the work & automate / digitalize the work
 Sub-contracting (outsourcing/offshoring/leasing)
 Working over-time
 Part-time position

JOB ANALYSIS (= a process)

 Formal & detailed examination of the job

 Systematic investigation of: duties and skills required and characteristics of future
employees

Methods of gathering information:

 Questionnaires (may exaggerate the importance of some aspects of work)

 Employees’ Agendas (employees may be reluctant or not be typical)
 Observing Employees (time consuming & people acts differently when they know
they are observed = HAWTHORNE effect)
 Interviewing employees

JOB DESCRIPTION (= what the worker does)

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 List of job duties, reporting relationships, working conditions, etc

 Outdated & superfluous  competencies framework

Simple version:

 Job Title
 Job Location
 Job Summary
 Type of contract (part-time/full-time/shifts)
 Type of job (mg/operational)
 Reporting to
 Job Duties
 Trial period
 Salary range
 Benefits

Complex version

 Detailed duties and responsibilities

 Subtasks
 How job is to be performed
 Essential functions

JOB SPECIFICATION (= what kind of person the worker should be)

 List of job human requirements = qualities (and qualifications)  personality,

temper, behavior.
 Essential, desirable characteristics

o Accreditation/ certification
o Studies
o Experience
o Training & qualifications
o Skills
o Foreign languages
o Human Characteristics (eg. Personality traits, emotional attributes, mental
capabilities, sensory demands): Essential/ Desirable Characteristics

BUILDING A RECRUITMENT PROCESS

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WHAT? – people complying with job description & specification

WHERE?

Inside the organization (internal source/informal methods):

 Recommendations (referral recruitment; risk od high subjectivity)

 Portfolio with hiring requests (influenced by the brand image of the company)
 Graduates having an internship
 Re-hiring former employees (likely to leave again)
 Promoting internal candidates

Outside the organization (external source/formal methods):

 CO itself ( with or without advertising agency)

 Job Fairs
 College placement offices/ direct partnerships with relevant faculties
 Government Job services
 Posting job announcements on bulletin boards
 Searching on internet (fast/inexpensive)
 Recruitment agencies
 Personnel leasing companies (staff recruited this way has a tendency to move
quicker)
For a project/ entire service
 Outsourcing ( third-party in the same country)
 Offshoring (same corporation but abroad)
 Offshoring – outsourcing (third party but abroad)
 Executives search company:
o Highly qualified candidates  senior level and executive jobs
o Throughout understanding of clients needs
o May cost 10/30% of the first year salary, if the person is hired
 Head Hunting Cos
o Used to be exclusive for leading candidates
o Became also very useful for position that require specific skills and
knowledge that are difficult to find = positions for which there is a strong
competition

JD & JS  Hiring Announcement  commercial/ advertisement

WHO will take care of? – junior/senior recruiter from inside or outside the organization or
line manager

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HOW to look for? Methods of recruitment: formal/ informal

HIRING ANNOUCEMENT:

 Information: relevant/attractive/proper amount

 Statement: persuasive arguments
 Words: neuro-linguistic programing
 Image: colors used

Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) : No discrimination/ Bona Fide Occupational

Qualification (BFQO) = nature of certain job may allow employment decision based on one
of the protected characteristics  reverse discrimination

Selection Process
Negative process picking out the ONE

IMPORTANT:

 Performance of the organization  subordinates skills & attributes

 Hiring process  costly
 Legal implications of inappropriate hiring
 Brand image

Long run  internal communication & efficiency

Understanding Emotions
High EQ:

 Someone is self-confident + self-aware + able to handle difficult emotional experiences

 Recognize and control their own emotions and the others  adjust their behaviour
accordingly
 EQ difficult to measure

Understanding Information
High IQ:

 May be able to learn certain subjects very quickly and make connections between ideas
that others miss
 Great academic success
 Limited social skills
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 IQ test  standardized questions  scores compared

Elements used in selection process: applications forms, cv, resumes, interviews, abilities,
work samples, personality samples, physical examination, graphology, criminal record,
recommendation letter ( third part); cover letter (personal introduction added to CV)

What a CV should include?

 Personal information
 Education
 Experience
 Skills and competencies
 Memberships
 Foreign languages
 Hobbies
 Driving License
 Other

Reading CV
 Compliance with requirements
 Photo
 Layout/uniformity
 Fonts
 Layout within each category
 Quantity/quality of details
 Years/periods  continuity
 Relevance of skills, experience
 Hobbies

Application Form
 Online, email, in-person, paper job application
 Reveal general suitability of applicants
 May require professional/personal references

Reference Check
Check for fraud, new info, potential issues, predict future performance.

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Screening Job Applications & Selecting Future

Employees
Selection Interviews
1) Structure
STRUCTURED: same questions in same order; unable to elaborate
SEMI-STRUCUTURED: combined
UNSTRUCTURED: qualitative data, topics

o Advantages: natural, relaxed, open discussion  friendly

o Disadvantages: difficult to compare; digressions, discontinuity; need for
experienced interviewers

2) Content
FRIENDLY
STRESS: test capability to handle stress (interviewer has aggressive questions, unexpected
behavior etc)
SITUATIONAL: confront with specific scenario
BEHAVIORAL: predict based on past behavior, ex from past experiences, reactions
3) How they administered
GROUP: Panel (1+ interviewers); mass interview (+ interviewers and + interviewees);
leaders group discussion
INDIVIDUAL

Factors that should be probed in

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