CHAPTER 1

Introduction to Human Resource

Management

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The Management Process

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The Management Process
• Planning – Establishing goals, standards, plans & forecasting
• Organizing – Giving subordinates tasks, establishing
departments, delegating authority, establishing channels of
communication
• Staffing – Who should be hired, how to recruit, selection,
training & development, compensation, evaluating
performance, counseling employees
• Leading – Inspiring others to get the job done, maintaining
morale & motivating team members
• Controlling - Setting production levels, checking the
performance & taking corrective actions as needed
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Definition of HRM
• According to Robert L. Mathis and John H. Jackson HRM is the
design of formal systems in an organization to ensure effective
and efficient use of human talent to accomplish organizational
goals.
• According to Gary Dessler HRM is the concepts & techniques
needed to carry out the ‘people’ or human aspects of a
management position including acquiring, training,
appraising, and compensating employees, and of attending to
their labor relations, health and safety, and fairness concerns.

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Why is HRM Important to All Managers?
• Managers don’t want to
– Hire the wrong person for the job
– Experience high turnover
– Have your people not doing their best
– Waste time with useless interviews
– Have your company in court because of discriminatory actions
– Have some employees think their salaries are unfair and inequitable
relative to others in the organization
– Allow a lack of training to undermine your department’s effectiveness
– Commit any unfair labor practices

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Human Resource Management Practices

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Impact of Human Resource Management

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Line & Staff Aspects of HRM
• Authority is the right to make decisions, to direct the work of
orders, and to give orders.
• Line authority gives managers the right to issue orders to
other managers or employees. It creates a superior –
subordinate relationship.
• Staff authority gives the manager the right to advise other
managers or employees. It creates an advisory relationship.
• Staff managers assists & advises line managers.
• HR managers can be considered as Staff Managers.

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Responsibilities of HR Department

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Human Resource Managers’ Duties

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Human Resource Managers’ Duties (cont’d)
• Line Functions: The human resource manager directs the activities of the
people in his or her own department and in related service areas.

• Coordinative Functions: Human resource managers also coordinate

personnel activities, a duty often referred to as functional authority (or
functional control). Here he or she acts as the ―right arm of the top
executive to ensure that line managers are implementing the firm’s human
resource policies and practices.

• Staff Functions: Assisting and advising line managers is the heart of the
human resource manager’s job. He or she advises the CEO to better
understand the personnel aspects of the company’s strategic options.
Here HR assists in hiring, training employees, etc.

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Supervisors’ Involvement in HRM

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HR Management Challenges

• Economic and Technological Changes

– Shift in jobs for manufacturing and agriculture to service industries
and telecommunications.
– Pressures of global competition causing firms to adapt by lowering
costs and increasing productivity.
– Growth of information technology (Internet).

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HR Management Challenges
• Workforce Availability and Quality
– Inadequate supply of workers with needed skills for knowledge jobs
– Education of workers in basic skills
• Growth in Contingent Workforce
– Increases in temporary workers, independent contractors, leased
employees, and part-timers caused by:
• Need for flexibility in staffing levels
• Increased difficulty in firing regular employees.
• Reduced legal liability from contract employee

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HR Management Challenges
• Demographics and Diversity Issues
– More diversity of race, gender, age, and ethnicity in the workforce

• Balancing Work and Family

– Dual-career couples
– Single-parent households
– Decline in the ―traditional family
– Working mothers and family/childcare

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HR Management Challenges
• Organizational Restructuring, Mergers, and Acquisitions
– ‘Right-sizing’ – Eliminating layers of management, closing facilities,
merging with other organizations, and out placing workers
• Intended results are flatter organizations, increases in productivity, quality,
service and lower costs.
• Costs are survivor mentality, loss of employee loyalty, and turnover of
valuable employees.
– HR managers must work toward ensuring cultural compatibility in
mergers.

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Human Resource Specialties

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 Summary
• Human resource management (HRM) consists of an
organization’s “people practices”
– the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees’ behavior,
attitudes, and performance.

• HRM influences who works for the organization and how those
people work.
• HR departments have responsibility for a variety of functions
related to acquiring and managing employees.

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