Topic 2: STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Strategic management: Is a process, an approach that addresses the competitive challenges an

organisation faces. The managing of the pattern or plan that integrates an organisations major
goals, policies and action sequences into a cohesive whole
Strategic Human Resource Management: the pattern of planned HR deployments and activities
intended to enable an organisation to achieve its goals
There are two broad schools of thought that explain SHRM:
1. One school, the external market-orientated approach, argues that HR practice choices need
to be made so they fit the external market, societal and organisational contexts HR
policies are chosen based on those that best achieve organisational strategy, goals and
outcomes by taking into account external factors such as the economy, politics, legislation
and labour market.
2. The second school, is based on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm Organisations
need to obtain and utilise their resources, including their people, so they become the best
organisation in their sector (Therefore, success is founded upon the ability to build
resources)
Components of the strategic management process
Two distinctive interdependent phases:
1. Strategy formulation: the process of deciding on a strategic direction by defining a
companys mission and goals, its external opportunities and threats and its internal;
strengths and weaknesses.
2. Strategy implementation: the process of devising structures and allocating resources to
enact the strategy a company has chosen.
Both these phases must be performed effectively. Further, organisations have recognised that the
success of the strategic management process depends largely on the extent to which the HR
function is involved.
Linkage between HR and the strategic management process
Strategic Choice: the organisations strategy; the ways in which an organisation will attempt to fulfil
its mission and achieve its long-term goals.
- Involves deciphering where to compete, how to compete, and with what will we
complete.




Role of HR in Strategy Formulation
Often the with what will we compete questions present ideal avenues for HR to influence the
strategic management process. Four levels of integration seem to exist between the HR function and
the strategic management function:

1. Administrative Linkage (Simply administrative tasks)
- Lowest level of Integration
- The HR functions attention is focused on day-to-day activities.
- No time or opportunity for HR executives to take a strategic look at issues
- Companys strategic planning function exists without HR input
- HR department is completely divorced from any component of the strategic management
process in both strategy formulation and implementation.

2. One-way Linkage
- The firms strategic business planning function develops plans and then advises the HR
function of the plan
- Although it doe recognise the importance of human resources in implementing the strategic
plan, it precludes the company from considering HR issues while formulating the strategic
plan.
- This level of integration often leads to strategic plans that the company cannot successfully
implement.

3. Two-way linkage
- Allows for the consideration of HR issues during the strategy formulation process. This
occurs in 3 sequential steps:
o Strategic planning team informs the HR function of the strategies being considered;
o The HR executives then analyse the HR implications of each strategy and present
their reports to the planning team;
o After the strategic decision is made, the strategic plan is passed on to the HR
executives, who develop programs to implement the plan.
o Both functions are interdependent.

4. Integrative Linkage
- Is dynamic and multifaceted, and is based on continuing rather than sequential interaction.
- Most cases, the HR executive is an integral member of the senior management team.
- Rather than transferring information every now and then, the HR function is built into the
strategy formulation and implementation processes.



STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
After an organisation has gone through the process of strategy formulation and made its strategic
choice, it has to execute that strategy. The strategy a company pursues dictates certain HR needs.
5 important variables determine success in strategy implementation:
1. Organisational structure
2. Task design
3. Types of information and information systems
4. The selection, training and development of people; and
5. Reward systems.
HR Practices
The HR function can be thought of as having 6 menus of HR practices from which a company can
choose the most appropriate to implement its strategy. Each of these menus refers to a particular
functional area of HRM:
1. Job analysis and design
2. Employee recruitment and selection
3. Employee learning and development
4. Performance management
5. Pay structure, incentives and benefits
6. Industrial relations
Business-level strategy
Business-level strategy deals with decisions and actions pertaining to each business unit, the main
objective of a business-level strategy being to make the unit more competitive in its marketplace.
This level of strategy addresses the question, How do we compete? Although business-level
strategy is guided by upstream, corporate-level strategy, business unit management must craft a
strategy that is appropriate for its own operating situation.
In the 1980s, Porter (1980, 1985) made a significant contribution to our understanding of business
strategy by formulating a framework that described three competitive strategies: cost leadership,
differentiation and focus.
The low-cost leadership strategy attempts to increase the organizations market share by having the
lowest unit cost and price compared with competitors.
The simple alternative to cost leadership is differentiation strategy. This assumes that managers
distinguish their services and products from those of their competitors in the same industry by
providing distinctive levels of service, product or high quality such that the customer is prepared to
pay a premium price.
With the focus strategy, managers focus on a specific buyer group or regional market. A market
strategy can be narrow or broad, as in the notion of niche markets being very narrow or focused.
This allows the firm to choose from four generic business-level strategies low-cost leadership,
differentiation, focused differentiation and focused low-cost leadership in order to establish and
exploit a competitive advantage within a particular competitive scope (Figure 2.4).
Miles and Snow (1984) have identified four modes of strategic orientation: defenders, prospectors,
analysers and reactors. Defenders are companies with a limited product line and a management
focus on improving the efficiency of their existing operations. Commitment to this cost orientation
makes senior managers unlikely to explore new areas. Prospectors are companies with fairly broad
product lines that focus on product innovation and market opportunities. This sales orientation
makes senior managers emphasize creativity over efficiency. Analysers are companies that operate
in at least two different product market areas, one stable and one variable. In this situation, senior
managers emphasize efficiency in the stable areas and innovation in the variable areas. Reactors are
companies that lack a consistent strategystructureculture relationship. In this reactive orientation,
senior managements responses to environmental changes and pressures thus tend to be piecemeal
strategic adjustments. Competing companies within a single industry can choose any one of these
four types of strategy and adopt a corresponding combination of structure, culture and processes
consistent with that strategy in response to the environment. The different competitive strategies
influence the downstream functional strategies.

















Topic 3: Australian Employment Relations
Explain the terms Conciliation and Arbitration, Awards, Enterprise Bargaining, Collective Agreements
and Individual Contracts
The public policy debate was really started by the Business Council of Australia in the late 1980s,
when it led a major employer offensive against Australias traditional laws and institutions of
industrial relations. They believed the current system had encouraged third parties to intervene in
relations between employees and their managers, resulting in conflict and low trust.
Conciliation: Process by which a third party conciliator attempts to resolve a dispute through
discussion and negotiation
Arbitration: Process by which a third party hears evidence in connection with a dispute and
makes a binding determination.
Awards: Written determinations created by federal or state industrial tribunals, specifying
the minimum terms and conditions of employment, such as hours of work, minimum pay
and types of leave allowable.

Enterprise Bargaining: bargaining over wages and conditions at the enterprise level
- Introduced by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) in 1991
Collective Agreements: agreements over wages and conditions covering groups or categories of
employees. (Example of progression of deregulation)
- Under Industrial Relations Reform Act 1993: could bargain for collective agreement without
unions.
Individual contracts: employment contracts covering the terms of employment for a single
employee.
- Howard government passed Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth)
- Shifted towards individualisations (de-unionising) through the introduction of individual
contracts (AWA)






Explain the evolution of Employment Relations in Australia (from highly centralised method of
Conciliation and Arbitration through to current system of enterprise-level bargaining with minimum
employment standards)
Employment relations: the study of the formal and informal rules that regulate the employment
relationship and the social processes that create and enforce these rules.
Employment Relations Institutions: rule-making bodies that create and enforce the rules of the
employment relationship.
Traditional system: Founded on conciliation and arbitration and the activities of unions.
Since the 1990s the Australian industrial relations system has undergone:
- Significant legislative change
- Significant structural change
- Significant declines in union density and power
- Significant increases in non-standard forms of employment
- A shift away from a centralised industrial relations system to a decentralised system focused
on enterprise bargaining
The Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 established the conciliation and arbitration system which
operated until 1988. The system was technically limited to industrial disputes beyond the borders of
regional states
However, the practice of unions serving logs of claim on employers from different states (artificially
creating an interstate dispute) meant that it became the main avenue for dispute settlement and
award negotiation most disputes were settled by negotiation not arbitration
In 1988, the Hawke Labor government passed the Industrial Relations Act 1988
More significant changes again were introduced in 1993 by the Keating Labor government in the
form of the Industrial Relations Reform Act 1993
- Allowed federal non-union collective agreements to be certified for the first time
- Incorporated a limited right to protected industrial action during a designated bargaining
period
Work Choices Legislation
In 1996, the Howard Liberal-National coalition introduced the Workplace Relations Act (WRA) 1996
which:
- Limited the power of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC)
- Made it possible to register individual contracts known as Australian Workplace Agreements
(AWAs)
In 2005, the Howard Liberal government passed the highly controversial Work Choices
amendments to the WRA 1996 that had previously been rejected by the Senate, including:
- Creation of a national system of industrial relations under the corporations power of the
Constitution, thus removing state control of industrial relations and allowing the federal
government to set minimum terms and conditions without recourse to awards for 85% of
the workforce
- The ability for AWAs to undercut award/collective agreement conditions
- Significant restrictions on union activities
- Reduced role for the AIRC
- Exempted businesses with fewer than 100 employees from unfair dismissal laws
- Introduced 5 minimum employment conditions
Work Choices was deeply unpopular in Australia and, combined with a strong union media campaign
called Your Rights at Work, contributed to Liberal-National coalition losing the 2007 election
Transition to Fair Work
After Labors election victory in 2007, the new Rudd Labor Government pledged to roll back Work
Choices and implement a fair and balanced industrial relations policy
The new policy (the Fair Work Act 2009) was less of a recasting of the industrial relations system and
more of a retreat from the excesses of Work Choices
Fair Work Act (FWA) 2009
The main features of the FWA were:
- Fair Work Australia was established as the new employment regulator along with the office
of the Fair Work Ombudsman to promote and enforce compliance with the new laws
- AWAs were abolished but individual common law contracts remained
- Ten new National Employment Standards (NES) were established as minimum employment
conditions for all workers under the federal scheme
- The introduction of a new system of modern awards to provide an additional safety net
- Unfair dismissal protection was extended to cover all employees except those working in a
small business (15 employees or less) or on probation
- Employees earning more than approximately $100 000 per year were now able to be on
arrangements not based on an award
- Employers and unions are now required to bargain in good faith but are not compelled to
reach an agreement. However, FWA can issue a workplace determination where a good
faith bargaining order is ignored
- Union officials are able to enter workplaces to talk with employees provided that they hold a
permit issued by FWA and abide by conditions of the permit (including giving notice)
Employees must be Better Off Overall (BOOT test) under an agreement than they would be under an
award in order for the agreement to be registered



Topic 4: The legal context of HRM
Demonstrate awareness of the various laws that impact on the management of labour (such as
Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Health and Safety (including creating a safety culture/climate,
Bullying and Unfair Dismissal)
The Equal Employment Opportunity Laws
Equal employment opportunity (EEO): the governments attempt to ensure that all individuals have
an equal opportunity for employment, regardless of characteristics such as race, colour, religion,
gender or national origin.
Anti-Discrimination Law in the Workplace
Direct discrimination: when someone is treated less favourably on the basis of a particular
characteristic (e.g. gender) than someone with a different characteristic in circumstances that are
materially the same
Indirect discrimination: when a compulsory requirement is attached to a job (which has nothing to
do with the real performance of the job) that would prevent substantial proportions of particular
groups or individuals from being able to comply.
Anti-discrimination Act (NSW)
- Sexual harassment
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action programs: associated with the provision of quotas and other forms of reparation
to compensate for past injustices suffered by a class or group of persons. This has most famously
occurred in the US in the case of African American people.
- Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012
Unfair dismissal
- Fair Work Act 2009







Topic 5: Diversity, WLB and employee retention
Discuss the various flexible working arrangements that can enhance work-life balance
Family-friendly programs: HR policies such as flexible hours, part-time work, job sharing,
telecommuting or working from home, use of employee sick days to attend to family commitments,
employee assistance programs and relocation services.
What are flexible working arrangements?
Flexible working arrangements can include:
- Flexible location for example, working from home or somewhere else more convenient,
instead of the office.
- Flexible hours for example, changing start or finish times to accommodate personal or
family commitments.
- Flexible patterns for example, working longer days to provide for a shorter working week.
- Flexible rostering for example, split shifts.
Benefits of flexible working arrangements
Giving your employees the flexibility they want, while still ensuring your business needs are met, can
help you create a positive workplace.
By improving work-life balance for your staff, flexible arrangements can help you:
- improve staff morale, motivation and productivity
- be an employer of choice
- reduce staff turnover and absenteeism
- Reduce staffing costs.
Managing flexible working arrangements
To manage arrangements effectively:
- develop a clear policy on flexible working arrangements and keep it up to date
- make sure all your staff are aware of the policy and their rights
- stay informed about your rights and responsibilities
- Encourage all staff to talk to you about flexible arrangements.






Define job satisfaction (including sources of job satisfaction) and organisational commitment
Process of Job Withdrawal
Job withdrawal: a set of behaviours that dissatisfied individuals enact to avoid the work situation.
Causes of job dissatisfaction Job dissatisfaction Job withdrawal Manifested withdrawal
Behaviour Change
- Try to change conditions
o Through unions
o Whistleblowing
Physical change
If the job conditions cannot be changed, a dissatisfied employee may solve the problem by leaving
the job (internal transfer or turnover)
- Employee turnover
- Absenteeism
- Lateness
Psychological withdrawal
When dissatisfied, they may psychologically disengage themselves from their jobs. Although they are
physically on the job, their minds may be somewhere else
This can take several forms
1. If the primary dissatisfaction has to do with the job itself, the employee may display a
considerably low level of job involvement (the degree to which people identify themselves
with their job)
2. Low level of organisational commitment (the degree to which an employee identifies with
the organisation and is willing to put forth effort on its behalf).

Job Satisfaction
The key driving force behind all the different forms of job withdrawal is job satisfaction
Job Satisfaction: A pleasurable feeling that results from the perception that a persons job fulfils or
allows for the fulfilment of that persons important job values. Three important aspects
1. Job satisfaction is a function of values: what a person consciously or unconsciously desires to
obtain
2. Emphasises that employees have different views about which values are important
3. Perception of circumstances play a major role
a. Perception is influenced by persons frame of reference (standard comparison point)
Sources of Job Satisfaction
Personal disposition
Disposition is an emotion that ultimately resides within the person; thus, it is not surprising that
many who have studied these outcomes have focused on individual differences.
Negative affectivity: a dispositional dimension that reflects pervasive individual differences in
satisfaction with any and all aspects of life.
- Individuals high in negative affectivity report higher levels of aversive mood states, including
anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear and nervousness across all contexts
o Tend to focus on the negative aspects of themselves and others (implies some
people bring dissatisfaction to work with them)
- Although low negative affectivity relates to higher levels of job satisfaction, when people
with low negative affectivity are dissatisfied with their work, their behavioural reaction is
much stronger
Tasks and Roles
Many aspects of a task have been linked to dissatisfaction. Three main aspects of tasks that affect
job satisfaction:
1. Complexity
a. Boredom generated by simple, repetitive jobs that do not mentally challenge rhe
worker leads to frustration and dissatisfaction.
2. The degree of physical strain and exertion in the job
3. The value employees put on the task
Ways to reduce task-based dissatisfaction:
1. Job enrichment: ways in which to add complexity and meaningfulness to a persons work
2. Job design (meaningful, varied work rather than tedious, exhausting work)
3. Job rotation: the process of systematically moving a single individual from one job to
another over the course of the time. The job assignments may be in various functional areas
of the company or movement between jobs in a single functional area or department.
Further, every individual plays a role in an organisation. Three aspects of organisational roles stand
out as significant influences on job satisfaction:
1. Role ambiguity: the level of uncertainty about what an organisation expects from an
employee in terms of what to do and how to do it
2. Role conflict: recognition of incompatible or contradictory demands by the person
occupying the role
3. Role overload: a state in which too many expectations or demands are placed on a person
Ways to reduce role based dissatisfaction:
1. Role analysis technique: a method that enables a role occupant and other members of the
role occupants role-set to specify and examine their expectations for the role occupant.

Supervisors and co-workers
These are two primary sets of people who affect job satisfaction. A person may be satisfied with a
supervisor or co-worker because of 1 of these 3 reasons:
1. Similar values
2. They provide social support
3. May help employee attain a valued outcome
Pay and benefits



















Discuss strategies to improve employee retention
It is well recognised that human resource management strategies are able to influence the
development and retention of employees. Retention and development of intellectual capital or
knowledge possessed by employees represents a key source of sustainable competitive advantage
for organisations.
The issue of employee retention has become a hot topic among HR researchers and practitioners.
Two major reasons for the growing importance of retention have been identified: the ongoing rise in
employee turnover rates in many industries and the increasing costs associated with employee
turnover.
Some suggested employee retention strategies
1. Employers must provide a clear and exciting strategic vision and communicate this
effectively to employees
2. Employers must maintain ongoing and regular communication with staff and a commitment
throughout the organisation to address workplace issues.
3. Employers should create work environments that are supportive, encouraging, challenging
and provide opportunities to stretch employees as not just workers but humans.
4. Employers must demonstrate integrity and ethical behaviour, managing in ways that are
sustainable and socially responsible.
5. Employers must understand and manage the diversity of their workforce.
6. A companys leaders need to demonstrate strong business skills and relevant industry
training.
For organisations striving to improve employee attraction and retention, it is important to recognise
that the leadership and management team as well as other organisational characteristics such as
strategy, culture and reputation are key influences on employee attitudes.
Here are some effective methods employers utilize in order to keep employees happy and part of
their organization instead of looking for employment opportunities elsewhere.
Training. Training employees reinforces their sense of value (Wingfield, 2009). Through training,
employers help employees achieve goals and ensure they have a solid understanding of their job
requirements (Maul, 2008).
Mentoring. A mentoring program integrated with a goal-oriented feedback system provides a
structured mechanism for developing strong relationships within an organization and is a solid
foundation for employee retention and growth (Wingfield). With a mentoring program, an
organization pairs someone more experienced in a discipline with someone less experienced in a
similar area, with the goal to develop specific competencies, provide performance feedback, and
design an individualized career development plan (Goldenson, 2007).
Instil a positive culture. A company should establish a series of values as the basis for culture such as
honesty, excellence, attitude, respect, and teamwork (IOMA, 2008). A company that creates the
right culture will have an advantage when it comes to attracting and keeping good employees
(Main).
Use communication to build credibility. No matter what the size of the organization,
communication is central to building and maintaining credibility. Many employers get
communication to flow up through a staff advisory council (or similar group) which solicits and/or
receives employees opinions and suggestions and passes them on to upper management (IOMA).
Its also important for employees to know that the employer is really listening and responds to (or
otherwise acknowledges) employee input.
Show appreciation via compensation and benefits. Offering things like competitive salaries, profit
sharing, bonus programs, pension and health plans, paid time off, and tuition reimbursement sends
a powerful message to employees about their importance at the organization. The rewards given to
employees must be meaningful in order to impact their perception of the organization and therefore
have a marked influence on its retention efforts. Moreover, if an organization promises a reward, it
should keep that promise (Gberevbie, 2008).
Encourage referrals and recruit from within. Having current employees offer referrals could help
minimize confusion of job expectations. Current employees can realistically describe a position and
the environment to the individual he/she is referring. Another way an employer can lessen the
impact of turnover is to hire from within, since current employees have already discovered that they
are a good fit in the organization (Branham, 2005).
Coaching/feedback. Its important for companies to give feedback and coaching to employees so
that their efforts stay aligned with the goals of the company and meet expectations. During an
employees first few weeks on the job, an employer should provide intensive feedback. Employers
should also provide formal and informal feedback to employees throughout the year (Branham).
Provide growth opportunities. An organization should provide workshops, software, or other tools
to help employees increase their understanding of themselves and what they want from their
careers and enhance their goal-setting efforts (Branham). Its important to provide employees with
adequate job challenges that will expand their knowledge in their field (Levoy, 2007). According to
Right Management, employees are more likely to stay engaged in their jobs and committed to an
organization that makes investments in them and their career development.
Make employees feel valued. Employees will go the extra mile if they feel responsible for the results
of their work, have a sense of worth in their jobs, believe their jobs make good use of their skills, and
receive recognition for their contributions (Levoy).
Employees should be rewarded at a high level to motivate even higher performance. The use of
cash payouts could be used for on-the-spot recognition. These rewards have terrific motivational
power, especially when given as soon as possible after the achievement. Its important for
employers to say thank you to employees for their efforts and find different ways to recognize
them. Even something as simple as a free lunch can go a long way towards making employees feel
valued.
Listen to employees and ask for their input as to what rewards might work best at your
organization. Conduct meetings and surveys to enable employees to share their input (Branham).
Most team members will work harder to carry out a decision that theyve helped to influence.
Lower stress from overworking and create work/life balance. Its important to match work/life
benefits to the needs of employees. This could be in the form of offering nontraditional work
schedules (such as a compressed work week, telecommuting, and flextime) or extra holidays. When
work-life balance is structured properly, both the employee and employer come out ahead. For
example, the employer will experience more productivity in the workplace because employees will
be less stressed, healthier, and thus, more productive (Wingfield). Encouraging employees to set
work/life goals, such as spending more time with their children, communicates that you really do
want them to have a life outside of work and achieve a healthy work/life balance.
Foster trust and confidence in senior leaders. Develop strong relationships with employees from
the start to build trust (Stolz, 2008). Employees have to believe that upper management is
competent and that the organization will be successful. An employer has to be able to inspire this
confidence and make decisions that reinforce it. An employer cannot say one thing and do another.
For example, an employer shouldnt talk about quality and then push employees to do more work in
less time. In addition, employers need to engage and inspire employees by enacting policies that
show they trust them, such as getting rid of authoritarian style of management (Branham).


















Topic 6: The analysis and design of work
Explain the process of job analysis
Explain the terms job description and job specification
Explain the mechanistic and motivational approaches to job design, and the advantages and
disadvantages of each
Job analysis: the process of getting detailed information about jobs
Job analysis is the procedure through which you determine the duties and nature of the jobs and the
kinds of people who should be hired for them. You can utilize the information it provides to write job
descriptions and job specifications, which are utilized in recruitment and selection, compensation,
performance appraisal, and training
Importance of Job analysis to HR Managers
Job analysis is at the core of all HR practices. Almost every HR program requires some type of
information that is leaned from job analysis:
1. Work redesign: To redesign work, detailed information about the existing jobs must be
available
2. HR planning: HR planning requires finding the required number of qualified employees to fit
specific jobs. Thus, requires accurate information about the levels of skill required in various
jobs.
3. Selection: To identify which applicants are most qualified, it is first necessary to determine
the tasks that will be performed by the individual hired and the knowledge, skills and
abilities that individual must have to complete the job
4. Employee learning and development:
5. Performance management: Through job analysis, the organisation can identify the
behaviours and results that distinguish effective performance from ineffective performance.
6. Career planning
7. Job evaluation.
The Importance of Job Analysis to Line Managers
Job analysis is clearly important to the HR departments various activities, but its importance may not
be as clear to line managers. There are many reasons for this:
1. Many line managers dont possess the appropriate management training and may fail to
appreciate the importance of the link between the strategic goals of the business and how
these relate to HRM practice and desired employee role behaviours (A KEY PART OF JOB
ANALYSIS IS UNDERSTANDING THIS LINK)
Job analysis Information
When preparing for job analysis, it is important to consider the nature (or types) of information
required and the potential sources of information that will be used in the job analysis.
Nature of Information
Two types of information are most useful in job analysis:
1. Job Description: a list of tasks, duties and responsibilities that a job entails
a. These are observable actions
2. Job Specification: a list of the knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics that an
individual must have to perform the job.
a. Also referred to as Human Capital

Sources of job information to conduct a job analysis are:
1. External sources of job analysis
a. Job analysis information from competitor such as job description and specification
b. Other on-line job descriptions

2. Internal sources of job analysis
a. Job incumbents: observation, interview, questionnaire
b. Supervisor of job: interview, questionnaire
c. Job analyst
d. HR information management system
e. Existing job descriptions
f. Manuals, publications
g. Experts
h. Records/file/manuals
i. Plans and blueprints
j. SMEs (Subject Matter Experts): people who have in-depth knowledge of specific job
under analysis, job skills, and abilities
k. Outside consultant
Job Analysis Methods
Job analysis traditionally has been conducted in a number of different ways. Also, firms differ in their
needs and in the resources they have for conducting job analysis.
Methods of Collecting Job Analysis Information
Introduction
An HR specialist (an HR specialist, job analyst, or consultant), a worker, and the worker' supervisor
usually work together in conducting the job analysis.
Job analysis data is usually collected from several employees from different departments, using
interviews and questionnaires. The data is then averaged, taking into account the departmental
context of the employees, to determine how much time a typical employee spends on each of
several specific tasks.
The Interview
The three types of interviews managers use to collect job analysis data are: individual (to get the
employee's perspective on the job's duties and responsibilities, group (when large numbers of
employees perform the same job), and supervisor (to get his/her perspective on the job's duties and
responsibilities).
The pros of using an interview are that it is: simple, quick, and more comprehensive because the
interviewer can unearth activities that may never appear in written form.
Questionnaire
Structured or unstructured questionnaires may be used to obtain job analysis information
Questionnaires can be a quick, efficient way of gathering information from a large number of
employees. But, developing and testing a questionnaire can be expensive and time consuming.
Observation
Direct observations are useful when jobs consist of mainly observable physical activity as opposed to
mental activity.
Reactivity can be a problem with direct observations, which is where the worker changes what
he/she normally does because he/she is being watched
Managers often use direct observation and interviewing together.
Participant Diary / Logs
The employee records every activity he/she engages in, in a diary or log along with the amount of
time to perform each activity to produce a complete picture of the job.
Employees may try to exaggerate some activities and underplay others.
Quantitative Job Analysis Techniques
Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) is a questionnaire used to collect quantifiable data concerning
the duties and responsibilities of various jobs, see Figure 3-5, on five basic activities: a) having
decision-making/communication/social responsibilities, b) performing skilled activities, c) being
physically active, d) operating vehicles/equipment, and e) processing information.
Department of Labor Procedure (DOL) is a standardized method for rating, classifying, and
comparing virtually every kind of job based on data, people, and things. Table 3-1 shows a set of
basic activities, and Figure 3-6 gives a sample summary.
3. Functional job analysis: 1) rates a job on data; people; things; the extent to which specific
instructions are necessary to perform the task; the extent to which reasoning and judgment are
required to perform the task; and mathematical ability required to perform the task; and 2)
identifies performance standards and training requirements.
Using Multiple Sources of Information
Likely, no one job analysis method will be used exclusively. A combination is often more appropriate.
Where possible, collect job analysis data using several types of collection techniques and
respondents.
Potential inaccuracies in peoples' judgments could lead to inaccurate conclusions

JOB DESIGN
So far, we have approached the issue of managing work in a passive way, focusing only on
understanding what gets done, the way it gets done and the skills required to get it done. While this
is necessary, it is a static view of jobs, in that jobs must already exist and that they are already
assumed to be structured in the one best way. However, a manager is often faced with a situation
in which the work unit does not yet exist, requiring jobs within the work unit to be designed from
scratch.
Job deign is the process of defining the way work will be performed and the tasks that will be
required in a given job
Job deign: changing the tasks or the way work is performed in an existing job.
Research have identified four basic approached hat have been used among the various disciplines
that have dealt with job design issues. All jobs can be characterised in terms of how they fare
according to each approach; thus, the manager needs to understand the trade-offs between
emphasising one approach over another. Two of these approached are:










Topic 7: The legal context of HRM
Effective workforce planning, or HR planning, is an aspect of human resource management (HRM)
that is integral to organisational strategic planning. Increasingly, companies are using sophisticated
software to facilitate their HR planning.
Developments such as globalisation and changes in society and technology have many implications
for HRM. Two of the major ways is through:
- Consumer markets
- Labour markets
There are three keys to effective utilisation of labour markets to ones competitive advantage.
- Organisations must have a clear idea of their current configuration of human resources
- Organisations must have a plan as to where they are going in the future and be aware of
how their present configuration of human resources relates to the configuration that will be
needed in the future
- Where there are discrepancies between the present configuration and the configuration
required for the future, organisations need programs that will address these discrepancies.
The Human Resource Planning Process
Human Resource Planning (also workforce planning): the process through which organisational
goals are translated into HR goals concerning staffing levels and allocation. Human resource planning
involves forecasting HR needs for an organisation and planning the necessary steps to meet these
needs.
From these goals, an integrated set of policies and programs may be developed.
The process consists of developing and implementing plans and programs to ensure that the right
number of employees, with the appropriate skills, is available at the right time and place.
The HR planning process is directly linked to strategic business planning. HR planning helps to ensure
that the organisation will fulfil its future business plans in terms of financial objectives, output goals,
technologies and resource requirements.
HR planning is the process that a company uses to ensure there are capable employees with the
necessary knowledge, skills and abilities required to fulfil specific work roles and, thereby, the
organisations strategic goals.
A strategic approach to HR planning means that:
- There is a focus on planning at the organisational level
- HR issues are considered to be part of the organisations strategic business planning
processes
- The HR planning process has an emphasis on the organisational bottom line
- HR strategies- such as staffing, employee learning and development, managing performance
and compensation are integrated so that the activities in each functional area support and
are consistent with those in other human resource areas.
- HR managers, as well as all other managers, work together to develop and implement the
organisations strategic business plans
- Employee needs and wishes for career development are integrated with organisational
goals.
The HR process involves
- Forecasting;
- Goal setting; and
- Strategic planning; followed by
- Program implementation and evaluation
Forecasting
Forecasting: The attempt to determine the supply of and demand for various types of human
resources to predict areas within the organisation where there will be future labour shortages or
surpluses.
Forecasting, on both the supply and demand sides, can be done using either statistical methods or
judgemental methods.
Determining labour demand
Typically, demand forecasts are developed around specific job categories and skill areas relevant to
the organisations current and future state. Once the job categories or skills are identified, the
planner needs to seek information that will help him or her predict whether the need for people
with those skills or people in that job category will increase or decrease in the future. Organisations
differ in the sophistication with which such forecasts are derived.
Determining Labour Supply
Once a company has projected labour demand, it needs to get an indicator of the firms labour
supply. Determining the internal labour supply calls for a detailed analysis of how many people are
currently in various job categories (or who have specific skills) within the company. This analysis is
then modified to reflect changes in the near future caused by retirements, promotions, transfers,
voluntary turnovers and terminations.
As in the case of labour demand, projections for labour supply can be derived either from historical
statistical models or through judgemental techniques. One type of statistical procedure that can be
employed for this purpose involves transitional matrices.
- Transitional matrices: matrices showing the proportion (or number) of employees in
different job categories at different times.

Determining Labour Surplus or Shortage
Once forecasts for labour demand and supply are known, the planner can compare the figures to
ascertain whether there will be a labour shortage or labour surplus for the respective job categories.
Once this is determined, the organisation can determine what it is going to do about these potential
problems
Goal setting and strategic planning
The second step in the HR planning process is goal setting and strategic planning. The purpose of
setting specific quantitative goals is to focus attention on the problem and provide a benchmark for
determining the relative success of any programs aimed at redressing a pending labour shortage or
surplus.
The goal should come directly from the analysis of labour supply and demand and should include a
specific figure about what should happen with the job category or skill area and a specific timetable
for when results should be achieved.
There are many mays to deal with labour shortages and surplues.
Downsizing
Downsizing: the planned elimination of large numbers of personnel, designed to enhance
organisational effectiveness. There are three major types of downsizing strategy:
1. Workforce reduction: a type of downsizing strategy, using a cost-cutting approach
emphasising short-term results and redundancies
2. Organisational redesign: restructuring or transforming of the organisation, with elimination
of functions, layers and work processes (often a type of downsizing strategy)
3. Systematic change: a program of organisational cultural change involving all staff (often a
type of downsizing strategy).
Early retirement programs
Another popular means of reducing a labour surplus is to offer an early retirement program.
Employing temporary workers
While downsizing was the popular method for reducing a labour surplus, Koukoulaki describes the
employment of temporary workers and outsourcing as a flexible human resource management
initiative to eliminate labour shortages.
Outsourcing
Overtime and expanding worker hours



Program implementation and Evaluation
The programs developed in the strategic choice stage of the process are put into practice in the
program implementation stage. A critical aspect of program implementation is to make sure that
some individual is held accountable for achieving the stated goals and has the necessary authority
and resources to accomplish this goal. It is also important to have regular progress reports on the
implementation to be sure that all programs are in place by specified times and that the early
returns from these programs are in line with projections.
The final step is to evaluate the results. Although the bottom-line evaluation is critical, it is also
important to go beyond it to see which f the specific parts of the planning process contributed to
success or failure.

HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
An effective HR planning system relies on reliable and valid information about the organisations
current and potential workforce.
Human resource information systems (HRIS): systems to collect, store, manipulate, analyse, retrieve
and distribute information related to a companys human resources.
These systems use technology to allow faster access to information and decision making. Thus, HRIS
may lead towards a form of virtual human resource management, as the computerisation of HR
activities in organisations may streamline operational aspects of HRM and reduce much of the
administrative burden of this functional area.
HRIS in organisations today tend to be software-enabled systems that are developed by specialist
vendors and promoted to organisations and HR professionals. There is a wide range of HRIS
applications available from consulting firms, software houses and organisations that employ HRIS
developers.
In many large organisations, HRIS have been used for 3 broad functions:
- Transaction processing, reporting and tracking
- Decision support systems (what if functions helps solve problems); and
- Expert systems (computer systems incorporating the decision rules of people deemed to
have expertise in a certain area)
-
Employee self-service
A major trend in HRIS is the increasing use of employee self-service (ESS) applications.
ESS: enable employees to directly enter their personal data into the HRIS and directly access
information, such as leave entitlements or pay details.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY USED IN HRM
1. Interactive voice technology
2. The internet
3. Networks and client-server architectures
a. Network of computers
b. Common form of network is client-server architecture (means of consolidating data
and applications into a single system (the client).
4. Relational databases
a. Databases contain several data files (topics) that are made up of employee
information (records) containing data fields. A data field is an element or type of
information such as employee name, tax file number or job classification.
b. In a relational database, information is stored in separate files, which look like
tables. These files can be linked by common elements (fields) such as name, ID
number or location
5. Imaging
a. Imaging (or scanning)
6. Blue-ray disc technology
7. GroupWare, intranets and portals
8. Global positioning systems (GPS)

HRIS: Software applications for HRM
The technologies through which HR meets stakeholders needs vary depending on the need being
satisfied. Selection systems ensure that applicants selected for employment have the necessary
knowledge, skills and abilities to provide value to the organisation. Employee learning and
development systems meet the needs of both line managers and employees by providing
employees with development opportunities to ensure they are constantly increasing their
human capital and, consequently, providing increased value to the company. Performance
management systems make clear to employees what is expected of them and ensure line
managers and strategic planners know which employee behaviour will be in line with the
companys goals. Finally, reward systems similarly benefit all stakeholders. These systems ensure
managers and employees will use their skills for organisational benefit and provide strategic
planners with ways to ensure all employees are acting in ways that will support the strategic
plan. Obviously, reward systems provide employees with an equitable return for their
investment of skills and effort.
There are specific purposes within HRM activities for which software applications can be
particularly useful. In the following sections, we review the software applications available for
HR planning, staffing, performance management, learning and career development, and
compensation and benefits packages.


HR Planning Applications
Two principle computer applications are related to HR planning: succession planning and
forecasting
Succession Planning: The identification and tracking of high-potential employees capable of filling
higher level managerial positions.
- Ensures that the company has employees who are prepared to move into positions that
become available because of retirement, promotion, transfers, terminations or expansion of
the business.
Forecasting includes predicting the number of employees who have certain skills and the number of
qualified individuals in the labour market.
HR planning involves company-specific calculations involved in determining future employee
turnover, growth rates and promotional patterns. They usually contain several data files, including a
starting population file, exit-rate file, growth-rate file and promotion patterns.
- Starting Population File: lists employees by job classification within each job family
o Usually include all active, regular, full-time employees
o However, may include only specific populations of employees. Such as job grade,
gender, age, service, training and experience information.
- Exit-rate data: includes promotion patterns, training completion rates, turnover rates and
hiring rates.
- Growth-rate data: includes the percentage increase in the number of employees within the
job or demographic characteristic (e.g. females) that are of interest.
- Promotion patterns: include the rate of movement into and out of each position
Information regarding starting population and exit and growth rates is useful for conducting
workforce profile analysis and workforce dynamics analysis.
Workforce Profile Analysis
To determine future labour supply and demand, it is necessary to identify the characteristics of the
current workforce, a process known as a workforce profile review.
Workforce dynamics analysis
A workforce dynamics analysis involves analysing employee movement over time. Promotion,
demotion, transfer and turnover data are used. Employee movement data can also be used to
forecast the effects of job terminations or hiring on the future workforce.
Staffing Applications
Common software applications used in the area of staffing include applicant tracking, recruitment
practices tracking, help in meeting equal employment opportunity reporting requirements and aid in
maintaining databases of employee information.

Performance Management Applications
Employees performance ratings, disciplinary actions and work-rule violations can be stored in
electronic databases. Personal computers are also increasingly being used for monitoring the actual
performance and productivity of service employees (E.g. call centres).
One of the disadvantages of monitoring is that employees sometimes find it demoralising, degrading
and stressful. To avoid the potential negative effect of performance monitoring, managers must
communicate why employees are being monitored. Non-management employees also need to be
involved in monitoring and coaching less-experienced employees.
Learning and Career Development Applications
Applications for employee learning and development have been used primarily to track information
related to training administration (e.g. course enrolments, tuition reimbursement summaries and
training costs), employees skills and training activities.
Important database elements for training administration include training course completed, certified
skills and educational experience. Training cost information can be used by managers to determine
which departments are exceeding their training budgets. This information can be used to reallocate
training dollars during the next budget period. Databases are also available that provide professional
employees, such as doctors, engineers and lawyers, with access to summaries of journal articles,
legal cases and books to help these employees keep up to date.
Compensation and Benefits Applications
Applications in compensation and benefits include:
1. Payroll
2. Job evaluation
3. Salary surveys
4. Salary planning
5. International compensation
6. Benefits management
7. Using compensation and benefits applications for decision making







Topic 8: Recruitment and Selection
Explain the various selection methods commonly used by organisations [referrals, biographical data,
physical ability tests, cognitive tests, personality inventories, work samples, assessment centres,
honesty tests, drug tests and interviews]
Critically analyse the advantages and disadvantages of each selection method
Explain the criteria used to evaluate selection methods [reliability, validity, generalizability, utility
and legality]
Explain the importance of recruiter traits, and the impact they might have on the above criteria

SELECTING
Employee selection decisions made over the course of a organisations history are instrumental to its
ability to survive, adapt and grow. The competitive aspects of selection decisions become especially
critical when organisations are confronted with tight labour markets or when competitors tap the
same labour market. If one company systematically skims off the best applicants, the remaining
companies must make do with what is left.


Types of Selection Methods
1. Interviews
2. References and biographical data
3. Physical ability tests
4. Cognitive ability tests
5. Personality inventories
6. Work samples
7. Honesty tests and drug tests








Selection Method Standards
Employee selection is the process by which companies decide who will or will not be allowed into
their organisations. Several generic standards should be met in any selection process. We focus on
five:
1. Reliability
Reliability: the consistency of a performance measure; the degree to which a performance
measure is free from random error. One important type of reliability is inter-rater reliability (the
consistency among individuals who evaluate the employees performance).
2. Validity
Validity: The extent to which a performance measure assesses all the relevant and only the
relevant aspects of job performance.
Predictive validation: a criterion-related validity study that seeks to establish an empirical
relationship between applicants test scores and their eventual performance on the job.
Concurrent validation: a criterion-related validity study in which a test is administered to all the
people currently in a job and then incumbents scores are correlated with existing measures of
their performance on the job
o The logic behind this strategy is that if the best performers currently on the job
perform better on the test than those who are currently struggling on the job, the
test has validity.
Content validation: a test-validation strategy performed by demonstrating that the items,
questions or problems posed by a test are a representative sample of the kinds of situations or
problems that occur on the job.
o A test that is content valid exposes the job applicant to situations that are likely to
occur on the job and then tests whether the applicant currently has sufficient
knowledge, skill or ability to handle such situations.

3. Generalisability
Generalisability: The degree to which the validity of a selection method established in one
context extends to other contexts. There are three primary contexts over which we might like
to generalise:
1. Different situations (jobs or organisations)
2. Different samples of people
3. Different time periods




4. Utility
Utility: is the degree to which the information provided by selection methods enhances the
effectiveness of selecting personnel in real organisations.
In general, the more reliable, valid and generalizable the selection method is, the more utility it
will have. On the other hand, many characteristics or particular selection contexts enhance or
detract from the usefulness of given selection methods, including when reliability, validity and
generalizability are held constant.

5. Legality

Recruiters
In many cases, by the time a recruiter meets some applicants, the applicants have already made up
their minds about what they desire in a job, what the current job has to offer and their likelihood of
receiving a job offer. Moreover, many applicants approach the recruiter with some degree of
scepticism. Knowing that it is the recruiters job to sell them on a vacancy, some applicants may
discount what the recruiter says relative to what they have heard from other sources. For these and
other reasons, recruiters characteristics and behaviour seem to have less impact on applicants job
choices than we might expect.
Recruiters functional area
Most organisations must choose whether their recruiters are specialists in human resources or
experts at particular jobs.
Recruiters Traits
Two traits stand out when applicants reactions to recruiters are examined
1. Warmth: reflects the degree to which the recruiter seems to care about the applicant and
is enthusiastic about his or her potential to contribute to the company
2. Informativeness: applicants respond more positively to recruiters who are perceived as
warm and informative.
Recruiters Realism
Since the recruiters job is to attract candidates, there is some pressure to exaggerate the positive
features of the vacancy while downplaying negative features. Applicants are highly sensitive to
negative information. Research suggests that the highest quality applicants may be less willing to
pursue jobs when this type of information is revealed.
Many studies have looked at the capacity of realistic job preview.
- Realistic job preview: accurate information about the attractive and unattractive aspects of
a job, working conditions, company and location, to ensure that potential employees
develop appropriate expectations.

Enhancing Recruiter Impact
Although research suggests that recruiters do not have much influence on job choice, this does not
mean that recruiters cannot have an impact. Several steps can be taken:
1. Recruiters can provide timely feedback; recruiters need to void behaviours that might
convey the wrong organisational impression; recruiting can be done in teams rather than by
individuals.