TOPIC 1:

MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
 Define human resource management (HRM), and how the term human
resource is used.
 Explain the way human resource management affects an organization’s
overall performance.
 Determine various responsibilities of human resource departments.
 Identify skills necessary for managing human resources.
 Describe the functions of supervisors in managing human resources.
 Discuss ethical considerations in managing human resources.
 Describe several careers in human resource management.

TEACHING-LEARNING ACTIVITY (LESSON PROPER):

What is Human
Resource Management?

 Human Resource Management is designing management systems to ensure

that human talent is used effectively and efficiently to accomplish
organizational goals (Jackson & Mathis, 2008).
 Human Resource Management comprises of policies, practices, and systems
that influence employees’ behavior, attitudes, and performance (Noe,
Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2016).
 Human resource management involves developing and administering
programs that are designed to increase the effectiveness of an organization
or business. It includes the entire spectrum of creating, managing, and
cultivating the employer-employee relationship.
https://www.humanresourcesedu.org/what-is-human-resources/
Human Resource Management may have numerous definitions, but it can simply
refer to the actions done by the human resource department to set the appropriate
conditions that foster employees’ functional performance aligned with the
organization’s objectives.
 Confusion can also be elicited by the term ‘human resource’. What really is
human resource? Interestingly enough, this term is usually used to pertain to both the
employees of an organization and its department that regulates anything related to
these employees. When you are inside the organization, HR means the Human
Resource department (HRD) and as you step outside, HR are the ones who work for
the company. So as to address this, the term/acronym HRD must be used to refer to
the people responsible for anything concerning the HR or the organization’s
employees. The term ‘human capital’ can also be used to refer to them.

The figure below depicts the areas involved in managing human resources. This
process of what we call STRATEGIC HRM includes practices namely, analyzing work
and designing jobs (job analysis and job design), determining the number of
employees with specific competencies needed (human resource planning),
attracting potential employees (recruiting), choosing employees (selection), orienting
employees how to perform their jobs and giving them opportunities to improve
(training and development), assessing their performance (performance
management), rewarding employees (compensation), and creating a positive work
environment (employee relations). All of these elements are equally important to the
operation of an organization. Sustaining and improving these areas ensure that the
organization is performing well.

An effective Human Resource Management is not only evident in view of a

general result that a company may obtain such as return of investment or annual
profit from stakeholders like their customers; but with effective management, even
employees experience satisfaction with their jobs, feel more competitive and creative
in dealing with their craft, and are indeed more productive. These in turn, represent a
good reputation for the company. Hence, the human capital is the source of the
company’s success or even failure.
 In almost all organizations in the world, the
human resource department serves as the basic
asset to carry out the vital processes of human
resource management. As the human resource
department continually attempts to align the
employees’ outputs to the organization’s visions,
they maintain a neutral ground between both
the employees and the organization. The HRD
does not necessarily give their absolute loyalty
to the company since it may compromise the
rights of its employees and vice versa. The
department represents itself as a third party –
involved in both executive/ managerial
consultation and employee concerns. Thus,
keeping the employer-employee relationship
intact.

WHAT ARE THE GENERAL ROLES OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT?

1. Administrative services and transactions—Handling administrative tasks (for

example, hiring employees and answering questions about benefits) efficiently and
with a commitment to quality. This requires expertise in the particular tasks.
(These are the typical or normal operations of HRD)

2. Business partner services—Developing effective HR systems that help the

organization meet its goals for attracting, keeping, and developing people with the
skills it needs. For the systems to be effective, HR people must understand the business
so it can understand what the business needs.
(These are steps HRD takes to align the employees’ competencies and performance
with the organization’s goals)

3. Strategic partner—Contributing to the company’s strategy through an

understanding of its existing and needed human resources and ways HR practices
can give the company a competitive advantage. For strategic ideas to be effective,
HR people must understand the business, its industry, and its competitors.
(This is an unusual yet groundbreaking step HRD takes to assist the organization to
respond to environmental changes)
4. Employee champion –protecting employees from harmful or unfair policies and
practices.
WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC ROLES OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT?

FUNCTION
Analysis and design of work
Recruitment and selection
Training and development
RESPONSIBILITIES
Job analysis; job design; job descriptions
Recruiting; job postings; interviewing; testing; coordinating use of
temporary labor
Orientation; skills training; career development programs

Performance management Performance measures; preparation and administration of

Compensation and benefits
Employee relations
Personnel policies
Employee data and
information systems
Compliance with laws
Support for strategy
performance appraisals; discipline
Wage and salary administration; incentive pay; insurance;
vacation leave administration; retirement plans; profit sharing;
stock plans
Attitude surveys; labor relations; employee handbooks; company
publications; labor law compliance; relocation and outplacement
services
Policy creation; policy communication
Record keeping; HR information systems; workforce analytics
Policies to ensure lawful behavior; reporting; posting information;
safety inspections; accessibility accommodations; accreditation
Human resource planning and forecasting; talent management;
change management

This table above is just an overview of the responsibilities of Human Resource department
and is not in any way exhaustive. Two HR departments from different organizations are
never identical because of differences in organization sizes and characteristics of the
workforce. Thus, there are HR departments that independently works with the above
functions. On the other hand, some of these functions are shared with other offices of
another company’s HR department. Take for an instance the HR department of a hotel
like Baguio Country Club with roughly 500 employees having different specializations and
a telemarketing company with approximately 300 employees yet the same
competencies utilized. It is reasonable that the hotel’s HR department has a payroll officer
who monitors the attendance and tardiness of the employees; and an accounting
department that administers the pay to its employees (not included in the job of a payroll
officer). For the telemarketing company, their HR department can operate without any
intervention from other departments. Hence, the difference between two structures of
HRD. In special cases, an organization needs expertise of either an internal or external
consultant to work with its HR department for the accomplishment of few of the
responsibilities, especially change management or organizational development. These
mentioned endeavors take a lot of time, effort and resources if it is to be done by the HRD
alone. In some companies, the HR department actively advises top management. In
others, the department responds to top-level management decisions and implements
staffing, training, and compensation activities in light of company strategy and policies.
OVERVIEW OF THE HRM FUNCTIONS

1. Analyzing and Designing Jobs

To produce their given product or service (or set of products or services), companies
require that a number of tasks be performed. The tasks are grouped together in
various combinations to form jobs. Ideally, the tasks should be grouped in ways that
help the organization operate efficiently and obtain people with the right
qualifications to do the jobs well. This function involves the activities of job analysis and
job design. Job analysis is the process of getting detailed information about jobs. Job
design is the process of defining the way work will be performed and the tasks that a
given job requires.

2. Recruiting and Hiring Employees

Based on job analysis and design, an organization can determine the kinds of
employees it needs. With this knowledge, it carries out the function of recruiting and
hiring employees. Recruitment is the process through which the organization seeks
applicants for potential employment. Selection refers to the process by which the
organization attempts to identify applicants with the necessary knowledge, skills,
abilities, and other characteristics that will help the organization achieve its goals. An
organization makes selection decisions in order to add employees to its workforce, as
well as to transfer existing employees to new positions.

1. Teamwork skills
Top Qualities 2. Decision making, problem solving
Employers look 3. Planning, prioritizing tasks
for in Employees 4. Verbal communication skills
5. Gathering/processing information

3. Training and Developing Employees

Although organizations base hiring decisions on candidates’ existing qualifications,

most organizations provide ways for their employees to broaden or deepen their
knowledge, skills, and abilities. To do this, organizations provide for employee training
and development. Training is a planned effort to enable employees to learn job-
related knowledge, skills, and behavior. For example, many organizations offer safety
training to teach employees safe work habits. Development involves acquiring
knowledge, skills, and behaviors that improve employees’ ability to meet the
challenges of a variety of new or existing jobs, including the client and customer
demands of those jobs. Development programs often focus on preparing employees
for management responsibility. Likewise, if a company plans to set up teams to
manufacture products, it might offer a development program to help employees
learn the ins and outs of effective teamwork.
 4. Managing Performance

Managing human resources includes keeping track of how well employees are
performing relative to objectives such as job descriptions and goals for a particular
position. The process of ensuring that employees’ activities and outputs match the
organization’s goals is called performance management. The activities of
performance management include specifying the tasks and outcomes of a job that
contribute to the organization’s success. Then various measures are used to compare
the employee’s performance over some time period with the desired performance.
Often, rewards—the topic of the next section—are developed to encourage good
performance.

5. Planning and Administering Pay and Benefits

The pay and benefits that employees earn play an important role in motivating them.
This is especially true when rewards such as bonuses are linked to the individual’s or
group’s achievements. Decisions about pay and benefits can also support other
aspects of an organization’s strategy. For example, a company that wants to provide
an exceptional level of service or be exceptionally innovative might pay significantly
more than competitors in order to attract and keep the best employees. At other
companies, a low-cost strategy requires knowledge of industry norms, so that the
company does not spend more than it must.

6. Maintaining Positive Employee Relations

Organizations often depend on human resource professionals to help them maintain

positive relations with employees. This function includes preparing and distributing
employee handbooks that detail company policies and, in large organizations,
company publications such as a monthly newsletter or a website on the organization’s
intranet. Preparing these communications may be a regular task for the human
resource department.

7. Establishing and Administering Personnel Policies

All the human resource activities described so far require fair and consistent decisions,
and most require substantial record keeping. Organizations depend on their HR
department to help establish policies related to hiring, discipline, promotions, and
benefits. For example, with a policy in place that an intoxicated worker will be
immediately terminated, the company can handle such a situation more fairly and
objectively than if it addressed such incidents on a case-by-case basis. The company
depends on its HR professionals to help develop and then communicate the policy to
every employee, so that everyone knows its importance. If anyone violates the rule, a
supervisor can quickly intervene—confident that the employee knew the
consequences and that any other employee would be treated the same way. Not
only do such policies promote fair decision making, but they also promote other
objectives, such as workplace safety and customer service.
 8. Managing and Using Human Resource Data

All aspects of human resource management require careful and discreet record
keeping, from processing job applications, to performance appraisals, benefits
enrollment, and government-mandated reports. Handling records about employees
requires accuracy as well as sensitivity to employee privacy. Whether the organization
keeps records in file cabinets or on a sophisticated computer information system, it
must have methods for ensuring accuracy and for balancing privacy concerns with
easy access for those who need information and are authorized to see it.

9. Ensuring Compliance with Labor Laws

The government has many laws and regulations concerning the treatment of
employees. These laws govern such matters as equal employment opportunity,
employee safety and health, employee pay and benefits, employee privacy, and job
security. Government requirements include filing reports and displaying posters, as
well as avoiding unlawful behavior. Most managers depend on human resource
professionals to help them keep track of these requirements. Ensuring compliance with
laws requires that human resource personnel keep watch over a rapidly changing
legal landscape. For example, the increased use of and access to electronic
databases by employees and employers suggest that in the near future legislation will
be needed to protect employee privacy rights. Currently, no federal laws outline how
to use employee databases in such a way as to protect employees’ privacy while
also meeting employers’ and society’s concern for security.

10. Supporting the Organization’s Strategy

At one time, human resource management was primarily an administrative function.

The HR department focused on filling out forms and processing paperwork. As more
organizations have come to appreciate the significance of highly skilled human
resources, however, many HR departments have taken on a more active role in
supporting the organization’s strategy. As a result, today’s HR professionals need to
understand the organization’s business operations, project how business trends might
affect the business, reinforce positive aspects of the organization’s culture, develop
talent for present and future needs, craft effective HR strategies, and make a case for
them to top management. Evidence for greater involvement in strategy comes from
interviews with finance and HR executives who say they are more interested than ever
in collaborating to strengthen their companies. Finance leaders can see that
employees are a major budget item, so they want to make sure they are getting the
best value for that expense. HR leaders, for their part, are learning to appreciate the
importance of using quantitative tools to measure performance.
OTHER SALIENT TERMINOLOGIES

human resource planning – identifying the numbers and types of employees the
organization will require in order to meet its objectives.

talent management – a systematic, planned effort to attract, retain, develop, and

motivate highly skilled employees and managers.

Evidence-based HR – refers to demonstrating that human resource practices have a

positive influence on the company’s profits or key stakeholders (employees,
customers, community, shareholders).

sustainability—broadly defined as an organization’s ability to profit without depleting

its resources, including employees, natural resources, and the support of the
surrounding community.

stakeholders – all the parties who have an interest in the organization’s success.
Typically, an organization’s stakeholders include shareholders, the community,
customers, and employees.

The numerous responsibilities

demanded from the human
resource department necessitate its
staff to also possess certain skills that
make their work experience and
efforts worthy to contribute to the
organization’s purpose of
sustainability. Skills, proficiencies,
competencies or whatever you call
them, are essential and basic to the
HRD.

In order to best help an organization, the HRD Staff need to be:

1. Credible activists—Are so well respected in the organization that they can

influence the positions taken by managers. HR professionals who are
competent in this area have the most influence over the organization’s
success, but to build this competency, they have to gain credibility by
mastering all the others.

2. Cultural and change steward—Understands the organization’s culture and

helping to build and strengthen or change that culture by identifying and
expressing its values through words and actions.
 3. Talent manager/organizational designer—Knows the ways that people join the
organization and move to different positions within it. To do this effectively
requires knowledge of how the organization is structured and how that
structure might be adjusted to help it meet its goals for developing and using
employees’ talents.

4. Strategic architect—Requires awareness of business trends and an

understanding of how they might affect the business, as well as opportunities
and threats they might present. A person with this capability spots ways
effective management of human resources can help the company seize
opportunities and confront threats to the business.

5. Business allies—Know how the business makes money, who its customers are,
and why customers buy what the company sells.

6. Operational executors—At the most basic level carry out particular HR

functions such as handling the selection, training, or compensation of
employees and communicating through a variety of media. All of the other HR
skills require some ability as operational executor, because this is the level at
which policies and transactions deliver results by legally, ethically, and
efficiently acquiring, developing, motivating, and deploying human resources.

Organizations depend on supervisors to help them determine what kinds of work need
to be done (job analysis and design) and how many employees are needed (HR
planning). Supervisors typically interview job candidates and participate in the
decisions about which candidates to hire.
Many organizations expect supervisors to train employees in some or all aspects of the
employees’ jobs. Supervisors conduct performance appraisals and may recommend
pay increases. And, of course, supervisors play a key role in employee relations
because they are most often the voice of management for their employees,
representing the company on a day-to-day basis. In all these activities, supervisors
can participate in HRM by taking into consideration the ways that decisions and
policies will affect their employees. Understanding the principles of communication,
motivation, and other elements of human behavior can help supervisors inspire the
best from the organization’s human resources.

Almost all disciplines involve ethics

and human resource management is
not an exception. Ethics refers to
fundamental principles of right and
wrong; ethical behavior is behavior
that is consistent with those principles.
Through this guide, HRM decisions are
set to the highest standard, resolving
ethical issues emerging in the
company.

EMPLOYEE’S BASIC RIGHTS

 Right of free consent—People have the right to be treated only as they

knowingly and willingly consent to be treated. An example that applies to
employees would be that employees should know the nature of the job they
are being hired to do; the employer should not deceive them.
 Right of privacy—People have the right to do as they wish in their private lives,
and they have the right to control what they reveal about private activities.
One way an employer respects this right is by keeping employees’ personal
records confidential.
 Right of freedom of conscience—People have the right to refuse to do what
violates their moral beliefs, as long as these beliefs reflect commonly accepted
norms. A supervisor who demands that an employee do something that is
unsafe or environmentally damaging may be violating this right if the task
conflicts with the employee’s values. (Such behavior could be illegal as well as
unethical.)
 Right of freedom of speech—People have the right to criticize an
organization’s ethics if they do so in good conscience and their criticism does
not violate the rights of individuals in the organization. Many organizations
address this right by offering hot lines or policies and procedures designed to
handle complaints from employees.

• Right to due process—If people believe their rights are being violated, they have
  Right to due process—If people believe their rights are being violated, they
have the right to a fair and impartial hearing. The government has addressed
this right in some circumstances by establishing agencies to hear complaints
when employees believe their employer has not provided a fair hearing. For
example, Department of Labor and Employment may prosecute complaints of
discrimination if it believes the employer did not fairly handle the problem.

One way to think about ethics in business is that the morally correct action is the one
that minimizes encroachments on and avoids violations of these rights.

STANDARDS FOR ETHICAL BEHAVIOR

Ethical, successful companies act according to four principles. First, in their

relationships with customers, vendors, and clients, ethical and successful companies
emphasize mutual benefits. Second, employees assume responsibility for the actions
of the company. Third, such companies have a sense of purpose or vision that
employees’ value and use in their day-to-day work. Finally, they emphasize fairness;
that is, another person’s interests count as much as their own.

For human resource practices to be considered ethical, they must satisfy the three
basic standards summarized above. First, HRM practices must result in the greatest
good for the largest number of people. Second, employment practices must respect
basic human rights of privacy, due process, consent, and free speech. Third,
managers must treat employees and customers equitably and fairly.
There are many different types of jobs in the HRM profession due to the many areas
of Human Resource Management. Several of the many job titles for HR professionals
are as follows:

 Director of Human Resources

 Training director
 Training development specialist
 HR manager
 HRIS specialist
 Campus recruiter
 Benefits specialist
 Human resource generalist
 Employment services manager
 Compensation and job analysis specialist
 Training and development manager
 Recruiter
 Benefits counselor
 Personnel analyst
 HR service center representative
 Human Resource assistant

The vast majority of HRM professionals have a college degree, and many also have
completed postgraduate work. The typical field of study is business (especially human
resources or industrial relations), but some HRM professionals have degrees in the
social sciences (economics or psychology), the humanities, and law programs. Those
who have completed graduate work have master’s degrees in HR management,
business management, or a similar field. This is important because to be successful in
HR, you need to speak the same language as people in the other business functions.
You have to have credibility as a business leader, so you must be able to understand
finance and to build a business case for HR activities.
REFERENCES:
DeCenzo, D. A. & Robbins, S. P. (2010). Fundamentals of Human Resource
Management, 10th ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Jackson, J. H. & Mathis, R. L. (2008). Human Resource Management, 12 th ed. Ohio:

Thomson South-Western.

Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2016). Fundamentals of
Human Resource Management, 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Redman, T. & Wilkinson, A. (2006). Contemporary Human Resource Management:

Text and Cases, 2nd ed. London: Pearson Education Limited.