Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Resource
Management
Human
Resource
Management
Professor Tony Keenan
Professor of Human Resource Management,
Edinburgh Business School
First published in Great Britain in 1998
c Tony Keenan 1998, 2003, 2005
Contents
1.1 What is Human Resource Management? 1/1
1.2 The Origins and Evolution of HRM 1/2
1.2.1 Business Strategy in an Increasingly Competitive Environment 1/2
1.2.2 Personnel Management 1/3
1.2.3 Organisational Behaviour 1/5
1.3 Philosophical and Theoretical Perspectives of HRM 1/5
1.3.1 Hard Versus Soft HRM 1/5
1.3.2 The Nature of Work Motivation and Behaviour 1/6
1.3.3 Organisational Conditions and Effectiveness 1/6
1.4 HRM as a Strategic Activity 1/7
1.5 HRM as an Operational Level Activity 1/9
1.6 Summary 1/11
Review Questions 1/11
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
• understand what is meant by human resource management (HRM).
• describe the main factors which led to the emergence of HRM as a discipline.
• explain how HRM is related to business strategy, organisational behaviour,
and personnel management.
• understand the difference between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ HRM.
• comprehend what is meant by strategic HRM.
• explain what is meant by operational HRM.
• describe the main activities involved in operational HRM.
its formative stages, there are controversies about what exactly is meant by the
term itself, about precisely what should and should not be included within the
scope of HRM, and even in some instances about the true benefits of some of
its proposed approaches and techniques for organisations and the individuals
employed in them.
Because there is no unanimously agreed definition as to what actually con-
stitutes HRM and precisely how it differs from previous approaches to the
management of people in organisations, no attempt will be made to provide a
comprehensive definition of the term here. However, one way to look at HRM
is as a set of loosely related ideas, concepts, and techniques held together by the
common underlying premise that, within any organisation, maximisation of the
utilisation of human resources is crucial to maintain and enhance competitive-
ness in a world where those who do not compete successfully simply do not
survive. According to this view, unless organisations can make full use of the
potential of their employees, not only will they perform poorly, but their very
existence will be threatened in today’s highly competitive world.
In order to give the reader an insight into the nature of the field, we will
first examine its evolution and development from related fields and activities
such as business strategy, personnel management, and organisational behaviour.
We will then consider the various philosophical strands underpinning HRM
thinking and practice. Finally, the distinction between strategic and operational
level HRM activities will be discussed briefly.
ment functions carried out in organisations would be very wide and would
include advising on activities such as: recruitment and selection, performance
appraisal, training and development, payment and pension systems, industrial
relations, and so on. These are all critically important functions which are capa-
ble of being carried out at two levels. At an operational level, all of these have
to be conducted as a part of the organisation’s everyday activities. However,
most also have a strategic element, in the sense that they can be integrated into
the overall objectives of the organisation. Take the example of training. At the
operational level, the personnel department would be responsible for adminis-
tering and running courses. At a strategic level, a relevant issue might be the
question of how much should be invested in training, given the direction in
which the organisation is going and what it wants to achieve.
From an HRM perspective, most, if not all, people management issues should
be considered from a strategic as well as an operational perspective. A key
issue which now arises is the extent to which, in the past, traditional person-
nel management has operated at a strategic level. A number of writers have
suggested that the role of personnel in the past in most organisations has been
operational and reactive, rather than pro-active and strategic (Torrington, 1995,
Hendry, 1995). An example of the reactive nature of personnel management can
be seen in the field of industrial relations, an area which greatly pre-occupied
personnel managers in the UK in the seventies. As Hendry (1995) points out,
the majority of personnel managers during that period spent most of their time
fire fighting. A dispute would arise and personnel’s job would be to react to it
and solve the immediate problem. What rarely emerged from personnel depart-
ments was a strategy for dealing with industrial relations problems. To take
another example, in the field of training and development, although personnel
departments frequently have large training and development budgets and are
responsible for running a wide variety of training courses, rarely does one find
a coherent strategy linking training to the organisation’s underlying objectives.
Again personnel’s role is seen as operational, rather than strategic. We saw
above that there was a view in the eighties that radical changes in the way in
which human resources are managed would be needed to increase competitive-
ness. Presumably, personnel managers, with their specialist knowledge, would
be well placed to initiate and influence these changes. Yet Evans and Cowling
(1985) in a study of British personnel managers, found that they were not gen-
erally initiators of major change. Nor were they given a large role in advising
on the form such changes should take.
In summary, it appears that, historically, personnel management has had
only a partial role in the management of people in organisations. It has had
an essential role at the operational level in, for example, advising on and
implementing selection systems, payment methods, training and development
programmes, welfare arrangements, and a host of other activities. It has had
much less impact, however, at the strategic level. Thus its role has been seen
as specialist and technical, rather than strategic. This is seen by many as a key
difference between HRM and personnel management and the rise in popularity
of HRM can be seen as largely a response to the need for a more all-embracing
approach to the management of people in organisations.
cost more than part-time ones, so that a shift to more part-time workers would
also be advantageous from a hard HRM perspective, as would outsourcing. The
latter involves contracting work out to agencies, giving the organisation flexi-
bility to increase or decrease numbers of employees as the need arises without
redundancy or other costs. These few examples should have given the reader
the flavour of the ‘hard’ approach to HRM.
The ‘soft’ approach to HRM, on the other hand, emphasises the human, rather
than the resource, element of the equation. According to this view, people
have enormous potential to increase their contribution to the organisation if the
conditions can be set up to release this potential. In this sense people should
be seen as qualitatively different from other resources. If the organisation can
harness employees’ reserves of creativity and energy, maximise their skills, and
enhance their commitment then this will provide the key competitive advantage
that is required. The emphasis here is much less on people as cost items and
much more on how to increase their productivity by enhancing their ability to
contribute to the organisation. Consequently, proponents of ‘soft’ HRM tend
to focus on methods of enhancing motivation and capability, such as reward
management, training and development, and so on.
1.6 Summary
The main impetus for the emergence of HRM was the perceived need, on the
part of a number of large organisations, to improve their competitive position
both nationally and internationally. Better utilisation of human resources through
the adoption of HRM systems and practices was seen as the key to achieving
this objective. Although HRM has much in common with traditional personnel
management, it attempts to overcome some of the apparent inadequacies of
personnel management as typically practised in the past. This is particularly
true of the strategic approach adopted by HRM. Operational level HRM, which
is concerned with the everyday management of people in organisations, also
shares much with more traditional personnel management approaches. However,
even here there are differences, due mainly to the impact of strategic HRM
considerations on operational activities.
Review Questions
True/False Statements
Each statement requires a single response – ‘True’ or ‘False’.
1.1 An important underlying premise of HRM is the need to maximise the utilisation
of human resources if organisations are to compete successfully.
1.3 A major difference between HRM and personnel management is the more
strategic orientation of HRM.
1.5 Historically, traditional personnel management has had less impact at the stra-
tegic level than at the operational level.
1.6 ‘Soft’ HRM emphasises the importance of developing people so that they are
capable of contributing more to the organisation.
1.7 Most HRM theorists agree that the management of people is too important
a task to be in the hands of anyone other than specialists from the HRM
department.
1.8 Task flexibility is the term used to describe the situation where an individual is
expected to carry out a variety of different work roles.
1.10 According to Guest (1994), HRM theories tend to emphasise individualism, rather
than collectivism.
1.11 According to Guest (1989), HRM and traditional personnel management are
likely to have a similar approach to industrial relations.
1.12 Although the nature of organisations has been changing in recent years, these
changes have not had any major implications for individuals’ careers.
1.1 What were the major factors which led to the emergence of human resource
management?
1.2 How does human resource strategy relate to general business strategy?
Memorandum:
you as a personnel expert, particularly since you have the benefit of all that up-to-date
knowledge you obtained by studying for your Distance Learning MBA. I have outlined
my ideas below. Please let me have your considered comments in due course.
Clearly HRM is the key to improving our use of human resources and is a vast
improvement on the old personnel management approach. Consequently the first thing
we need to do is scrap our existing personnel departments throughout the business,
make the individuals concerned redundant, and get in some new HRM experts. We will
only need one or two new people, however, since HRM theory tells us that line managers
should now be expected to do the bulk of what used to be personnel work. The seminar
speakers suggested that personnel management is not strategic enough, but I think we
may be an exception to this, since we have always been pretty good at reacting to crises.
Anyway, I am producing a business strategy for the UK side of our operation which I
will pass on to the HRM experts so that they can implement whatever is necessary on
the human resource side. By the way, I do not think we should go for this so-called soft
HRM approach – if the workers think we are soft they will walk all over us!
It seems we will need to change the culture of the organisation. As I understand it,
this is quite a straightforward thing to do. Maybe you could take this on and organise a
suitable course for people to go on. Another thing, we will no longer need to employ
those expensive organisational behaviour consultants, since their ideas are obviously out
of date now that HRM has taken over the field. Whatever happens, if we do decide
to adopt a strategic approach to HRM, it is likely to involve a whole new approach to
what we do, rather than introducing a few new ideas on a piecemeal basis. Once we
get the new systems up and running successfully, it might be a good idea to suggest to
our colleagues in the US and the Far East that they should follow our lead and adopt
an HRM approach too.
Does this all seem fine to you?
References
Evans, A. and Cowling, A. (1985). ‘Personnel’s part in organisation restructuring’,
Personnel Management, January, 14–17.
Guest, D.E. (1989). ‘HRM: Implications for industrial relations’, New Perspectives in
Human Resource Management, ed. Storey, J., London and New York: Routledge.
Guest, D.E. (1994). ‘Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management:
towards a European approach’,European Work and Organizational Psychologist, 4, 251–270.
Hendry, C. (1995). Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach to Employment,
Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Herriot, P. (1992). The Career Management Challenge, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Peters, T.J. and Waterman, R.H. Jr (1982). In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s
Best Run Companies, New York: Harper & Row
Torrington, D. and Hall, L. (1995). Personnel Management: HRM in Action, Hemel
Hempstead: Prentice Hall.
Contents
2.1 Defining Characteristics of HRM Models 2/1
2.2 Matching Models 2/3
2.2.1 Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna’s Model 2/3
2.2.2 The Schuler Group 2/4
2.2.3 Evaluation of Matching Models 2/6
2.3 Harvard-type Models 2/7
2.3.1 The Original Beer Model 2/7
2.3.2 The Guest Model 2/9
2.3.3 The Pettigrew Approach 2/10
2.3.4 Evaluation of Harvard-type Models 2/11
2.4 Summary 2/12
Review Questions 2/12
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
• describe the defining characteristics of HRM models.
• understand the Fombrun Matching model.
• understand the Schuler model.
• describe the main features of the original Harvard approach.
• explain Guest’s model and its relationship to the original Harvard approach.
• describe the Pettigrew model.
• evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Matching and Harvard models.
below, variants on them have been proposed by writers from other countries,
notably Britain. The Matching and Harvard models have somewhat different
underlying philosophies and associated implications for how best to manage
people in organisations. Although this does not mean that their prescriptions
are necessarily fundamentally incompatible, they are not easy bedfellows, and
in practice most organisations are likely to be attracted to one approach at the
expense of the other.
Before proceeding to a detailed comparison of some of the more well known
models, it is useful to consider some of parameters along which they can vary.
This will help the reader to identify the similarities and differences among them.
• All models are directly concerned with strategic aspects of HRM. However,
some are concerned almost exclusively with strategic considerations, while
others also give weight to operational and implementation issues. Also, the
treatment of the relationship between HRM strategy and business strategy
generally differs significantly from one model to another.
• Some models are more prescriptive than others. The more prescriptive
models endeavour to tell managers the ‘best way to do things’. With less
prescriptive approaches, the emphasis is much more on understanding
structures and processes than on telling HRM managers how to do it.
• An important differentiating factor among theories is the extent to which a
‘hard’ versus ‘soft’ approach is taken, as described in Module 1.
• Another important differentiating factor is the extent to which line managers
are assigned responsibility for HRM in the various models.
• Models vary in how far they advocate a departure from traditional personnel
management practice. Thus, while some have taken a radically different
approach, others have been described as being no more than personnel
management in a new guise.
• Models vary in the degree to which they adopt a unitarist approach to
HRM. The unitarist approach takes the position that there are only a small
number of individuals or groups who have a legitimate interest in the fate
of the organisation. Furthermore, these major stakeholders should be the
ones whose point of view should be taken into account in the determination
of business and HRM strategy. At its most extreme, the unitarist view advo-
cates that only top management has a responsibility for devising strategy
and its major priority in making organisations successful is to satisfy share-
holders’ needs (shareholders being the other main stakeholders). Pluralist
approaches, on the other hand, assume a much wider range of stakeholders
whose legitimate interests should be taken into account in the process of
strategy formulation. Examples of this wider community of stakeholders
might include individual employees, trade unions, and society generally.
With these points in mind, let us now proceed to examine some of the major
models of the HRM process.
If, on the other hand, the model had allowed for the possibility that HRM
considerations might influence general strategy, a broader view of people as
human resources emerges, with possible beneficial results. In the above example,
information about the capabilities of the workforce would be an input into the
general strategic process and would thus become a factor, in addition to market
considerations, in deciding which direction to take in the future.
The model is highly prescriptive, providing managers with a set of guidelines
as to how things should be done. It is also readily identified as ‘hard’, rather
than ‘soft’ HRM. People are seen as resources whose contribution has to be
maximised at the same time as their costs have to be minimised. There is little
mention of the needs or interests of employees in the model.
The approach is essentially unitarist, rather than pluralist. Although the model
does mention the role of political and cultural forces these are given little empha-
sis. There is scant consideration, for example, of possible inputs to the whole
process from the trade unions or any other organisation representing the needs
of the employees. The emphasis is predominantly on market forces determining
strategic need which then dictates HRM practices. In this respect, the approach
represents quite a departure from traditional personnel management, which has
often seen its role as more than just the implementation of policies designed
to meet narrowly defined performance requirements. It has also been seen as
having a legitimate role in meeting employees’ needs and interests, provided
these are compatible with organisational objectives.
Innovation
Where the strategic objective is to encourage a high level of innovation, it is
proposed that the desired performance requirements would include:
• jobs that require close interaction and co-ordination among groups of indi-
viduals
• performance appraisals that are more likely to reflect longer-term and group-
based achievements
• jobs that allow employees to develop skills that can be used in other
positions.
Quality enhancement
A somewhat different pattern of performance requirements emerge when the
strategic objective is quality enhancement. Examples of these are:
Cost reduction
Illustrative performance requirements here are:
• relatively fixed and explicit job descriptions that allow little room for ambi-
guity
• short-term results-orientated performance appraisals
• minimal levels of employee training and development.
The approach of Schuler and his group clearly provides a more detailed
analysis of how HRM policies can be used to implement strategies than that
of Fombrun. This apart, it has much in common with their approach and its
characteristics are similar in terms of the parameters outlined at the beginning
of the module.
To what extent are Schuler’s prescriptions for matching particular HRM poli-
cies to specific business strategies valid and useful? Hendry (1995), addressing
this question, concluded that, while a number of the proposed links seem intu-
itively plausible up to a point, the optimal HRM strategy is unlikely to be
need for an integrated and strategic approach to HRM. They have also shown
how strategic HRM can be informed by general strategy and have demonstrated
how strategy can be used to guide operational level activities. While the models
may be somewhat over-simplified and rudimentary, they have at least shown
the need for, and potential value of, theory in this area.
Stakeholder
interests
According to the model, HRM policy choices (i.e. strategy) are influenced
by stakeholder interests and situational factors. There are presumed to be
several other stakeholders, over and above shareholders and top managers, who
have a legitimate interest in HRM strategy. These include employee groups,
government, the unions, and the wider community. Thus, unlike the matching
models, not only are the employees’ interests explicitly recognised, but so too are
those of other groups outside of the organisation. As far as situational factors
are concerned, general business strategy is only one of seven relevant factors
listed as important inputs to HRM policy choices. Other influences include
the nature of the workplace, the labour market situation, and even laws and
societal values. Here again this contrasts sharply with the approach taken in
the matching models where everything is driven by business strategy. There are
several areas of HRM activity in which policy choices arising out of stakeholders’
interests and situational factors can be made. These include choices about: the
degree of opportunity for employee influence on decisions, the nature of reward
systems and the type of work systems.
factors such as the labour market, laws, and society in the model.
Following from the previous point, the Harvard model is much more pluralist
than the matching models. It recognises the legitimacy of employees’ interests
as well as those of shareholders, and it accepts the need to take into account the
views of other stakeholders external to the organisation.
This model is considerably more prescriptive than that of Beer. It is less con-
cerned with the analysis of strategic options than with putting forward a set of
recommendations for good HRM practice. The model has four elements.
First, there are a series of HRM Policies and Practices, many of which one
would expect to find in a traditional personnel department. These are:
In the model, the human resource policies and practices are designed and
operated in such a way as to achieve the four key Human Resource Outcomes
which constitute the second element of the model. The HRM outcomes are:
• Commitment;
• Flexibility;
• Quality;
• Strategic integration.
Finally, the fourth element needed to make all of this come to fruition is
Leadership. This is crucial to ensure the development of the right organisational
culture to and to drive forward strategic HRM as a key goal.
In terms of the parameters listed at the beginning of this module, the Guest
model is broadly similar to that of Beer, apart from the fact that it is somewhat
more prescriptive.
• Socio-economic factors
• Technical factors
• Political-legal influences
• Competitive factors
Although the Outer context can have a direct influence on the overall Business
strategy content, its main influence is on what they call the Inner context of the
organisation. By inner context they mean factors such as:
• Culture
• Structure
• Organisational politics and leadership
• Task technology
• Business outputs
These organisation-wide context factors in their turn influence the HRM con-
text, which they specify as including:
• Role
• Definition
• Organisation
• HR outputs
Finally, the HRM context has effects on human resource systems, defined in
their terminology as HRM content factors. These include:
• HR flows
• Work systems
• Reward systems
• Employee relations
Of course these models also have their critics. In particular, there has to be a
question mark as to how realistic these models are in terms of their assumptions
and their practical application in the real world. Is it really the case that increased
commitment inevitably leads to enhanced performance? Do we know how to
increase commitment anyway? Similarly, culture may indeed be very important,
but do we actually know how to change it? Can the philosophy of shared
common interests really be sustained in real world situations? Some would
argue that conflict of interests is an inevitable part of the employer-employee
relationship whatever HRM practices are adopted. We shall examine a number
of these issues further in the next module.
2.4 Summary
HRM models can be classified as either matching models or Harvard-type
models. The various models which have been put forward can be differentiated
in terms of a number of characteristics, particularly the degree to which they
take a hard or soft approach. Hard HRM sees people as basically no different
from any other organisational resource, whose contribution has to be maximised
while their cost is minimised. Soft HRM, on the other hand, puts more emphasis
on the ‘human’, than the ‘resource’, side of HRM. Soft HRM takes the view that
it is possible to develop HRM policies which will be mutually beneficial to both
organisations and their employees.
Review Questions
True/False Statements
Each statement requires a single response – ‘True’ or ‘False’.
2.1 While there are some minor differences of detail, the underlying philosophies
and assumptions of the matching and Harvard models are the same.
2.2 Prescriptive HRM models are more concerned with understanding organisational
structures than with advising managers on how things should be done.
2.3 Unitarist approaches to HRM tend to assume that the main stakeholders in the
organisation are top management and shareholders.
2.4 According to the Fombrun matching model, there are three key operational
systems which are critical for implementing strategy.
2.5 The Schuler and Jackson (1987) model attempts to provide lists of performance
requirements which fit different business strategies.
2.6 According to Boxall, a strength of matching models is the fact that they have
frequently been supported by systematic research validating them.
2.7 A strength of the matching models is the way in which they have highlighted
the need for an integrated approach to HRM.
2.8 Empirical studies by the Schuler group have produced equivocal support for
their model.
2.9 The Harvard approach regards HRM as an important responsibility of all man-
agers.
2.10 In the original Harvard model, business strategy is only one of a number of
factors seen as relevant inputs to HRM strategy.
2.11 According to the Harvard view, high levels of commitment need to be accom-
panied by a strong emphasis on top-down management.
2.12 The Harvard framework as proposed by Beer et al. (1984) considers cost effec-
tiveness to be a desired outcome of HRM policy choices.
2.13 The Guest model of HRM is much less prescriptive than that of Beer et al.
2.14 The strategic model put forward by Hendry and Pettigrew is analytical, rather
than prescriptive.
2.15 Soft HRM models place more emphasis on market forces than hard models.
2.1 Critically evaluate the Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna matching model of HRM.
2.2 What are the defining characteristics of the original Beer et al. model of HRM?
1 Is this soft approach any better than what they call the hard approach?
2 If we use this approach to work out an HR strategy, do we need to take on
board the views of the unions?
3 The report suggests that HR strategy can influence business strategy, but surely
it should be the other way around?
4 The report says that we should give our line managers more responsibility
for people management. But what if they screw up? In any case why is this
necessary?
5 Is it really the case that the right HRM policies are to the mutual benefit of all
employees?
6 Does it really matter whether or not employees are committed, so long as they
do what they are told by their managers?
7 How easy is it going to be to get people to be more committed?
8 What do we risk if we go down this route?
References
Beer, M., Spector, B., Lawrence, P.R., Mills, Q.N. and Walton, R.E. (1984). Managing
Human Assets, New York: Free Press.
Boxall, P.F. (1992). ‘Strategic human resource management: Beginnings of a new theo-
retical sophistication?’, Human Resource Management Journal, 2, 60–79.
Fombrun, C.J., Tichy, N.M. and Devanna, M.A. (1984). Strategic Human Resource Manage-
ment, New York: Wiley.
Guest, D.E. (1994). ‘Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management:
Towards a European approach’, European Work and Organizational Psychologist, 4, 251–70.
Hendry, C. (1995). Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach to Employment,
Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Hendry, C. and Pettigrew, A. (1990). ‘Human resource management: An agenda for the
1990s’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1, 17–43.
Porter, M.J. (1990). The Competitive Advantage of Nations, New York: Free Press.
Schuler, R.S. and Jackson, S.E. (1987). ‘Linking competitive strategies with human
resource management practices’, Academy of Management Executive, 1, 207–19.
Contents
3.1 HRM Themes 3/2
3.2 Quality 3/2
3.2.1 Quality as Product Superiority 3/2
3.2.2 Quality as Customer Satisfaction 3/3
3.2.3 Quality in the Guest Model of HRM 3/4
3.2.4 Quality as Organisational Culture 3/4
3.2.5 Total Quality Management 3/4
3.3 Organisational Structures 3/7
3.3.1 Traditional Bureaucratic Structures 3/7
3.3.2 De-layering 3/8
3.3.3 De-centralisation 3/9
3.4 Flexibility 3/10
3.4.1 Different Forms of Flexibility 3/10
3.4.2 The Flexible Firm 3/11
3.4.3 Evaluation of Flexibility in Practice 3/12
3.4.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Flexible Working Arrangements 3/13
3.5 Team Working 3/15
3.5.1 From Autonomous Work Groups to Self-Managed Teams 3/15
3.5.2 Types of Team 3/16
3.5.3 Potential Benefits of Team Working from an Organisational 3/17
Perspective
3.5.4 Consequences of Team Working for Individuals 3/17
3.6 The Learning Organisation 3/18
3.6.1 The Concept of the Learning Organisation 3/18
3.6.2 Characteristics of the Learning Organisation 3/19
3.7 Organisational Commitment 3/20
3.7.1 The Nature of Commitment 3/20
3.7.2 Determinants of Organisational Commitment 3/22
3.7.3 Commitment, Effort, and Performance 3/23
3.8 Culture 3/23
3.8.1 What is Culture? 3/24
3.8.2 The Relationship between Culture and Performance 3/25
3.8.3 Managing Culture Change 3/26
3.9 Summary 3/27
3.10 Strategic and Operational HRM 3/28
Review Questions 3/28
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
• describe the various ways in which quality has been conceptualised in
HRM.
• understand what is meant by TQM.
• compare bureaucratic and de-centralised organisational structures.
• explain what is meant by the flexible firm.
• describe different types of work teams and explain their potential benefits.
• understand what is meant by the learning organisation.
• explain the term organisational commitment and its relevance for soft HRM.
• explain what is meant by organisational culture and discuss its relationship
with organisational performance.
3.2 Quality
One of the most fundamental themes underlying most models of HRM is that
of quality. However, as we shall see, quality is not a simple unitary concept. It
has been conceptualised in a number of different, but overlapping, ways.
the Heriot-Watt Distance Learning MBA can be used to illustrate some of the
contradictions which result from trying to specify quality purely in these terms.
One potential way to increase customer (i.e. student) satisfaction in this case
might be to set extremely easy examinations which all students pass. Would
this constitute a high quality product? Would difficult examinations, which a
significant number of students fail with resulting low customer satisfaction,
necessarily result in a low quality MBA product? What both of these examples
illustrate is the fact that, while no one would deny the importance of meeting
the customer’s needs, defining quality purely in terms of customer satisfaction
can often be far less straightforward than it seems, especially when applied to
public service organisations and perhaps other providers of services.
What is TQM?
As a system, TQM embraces the various perspectives on quality described above.
However, it is most clearly identified with the idea of quality as something which
is fundamental to an organisation’s culture and philosophy. In this sense TQM
is not just about products or services to external customers. Rather, according
to its proponents, it is about a set of values and ways of operating which drive
everything the organisation does. While TQM has a number of variants, most
TQM systems would, at least in theory, include the following:
It is clear from the above that the introduction of TQM can potentially involve
far reaching changes in organisational structures and functioning. It may also
require new employee attitudes, responsibilities, and working arrangements.
According to the theory, TQM is an integrated system requiring wide ranging
changes which mutually reinforce each other. It is not about bolting a few new
procedures onto existing systems.
Whatever the theoretical merits of TQM, and despite its widespread popularity,
it seems clear that there are many implementation problems in ensuring that the
promised quality enhancement is realised in practice.
These are all important themes in HRM thinking and practice. However, each
in its own way has been the subject of controversy, particularly in terms of
its implications for individual and organisational performance. Each will be
examined in detail in the course of the remainder of this module. For now,
the reader is simply cautioned that, whenever any of these concepts is found
wanting, this has implications for our evaluation of the effectiveness of TQM as
a system.
attractive features from the individual’s perspective. For example, there is now
clear evidence that one of the most potent sources of stress for employees is
uncertainty or ambiguity about what is required of them and, while no one is
suggesting that bureaucracies are free of all ambiguity, it is at least relatively
clear to individuals what they are required to do and what their responsibilities
are. Also, the existence of a clearly visible hierarchical structure allows individ-
uals to see potential career paths for themselves in the organisation, allowing
them to aim for specific career objectives.
There are of course downsides to this form of structure, some of which have
implications for the quality issue discussed above. For example, bureaucratic
structures, being highly rules oriented, are widely regarded as being rather
inflexible and resistant to change. But flexibility and change may be just what
is required if the concept of continual improvement is to become a reality.
Hierarchical organisations, by their nature, tend to give more responsibility (and
hence more satisfaction?) to those higher up the ladder. If those lower down
have less responsibility, and by implication, less satisfaction, how are they to
be motivated to deliver quality? Furthermore, where bureaucratic organisations
rely heavily on adherence to standard rules and procedures they are in danger
of stifling the kind of creativity and personal initiative which is a significant
part of the human potential which the Harvard approach to HRM in particular
seeks to unlock.
3.3.2 De-layering
We have seen above that a common feature of bureaucratic organisations is
the presence of several layers of management arranged in vertical hierarchies.
In the late eighties a popular pastime on the part of top management in a
number of organisations was to remove several of these managerial rungs in
the ladder in the process known as de-layering. In this way organisations could
be made leaner and flatter. One justification for this action was the suggestion
that the bureaucratic nature of these organisations had led to over-manning
at managerial level which was inefficient and could no longer be afforded in
times when value for money for the organisation was paramount in order to
maintain competitiveness. In the face of fierce competition, passengers could
no longer be afforded, so the argument ran. Without doubt, over-manning due
to excessive bureaucracy did exist in some organisations and de-layering was
inevitable in the face of increasing competitive pressures. Equally, there were
other cases where this was not so and de-layering was implemented as a pure
cost cutting exercise designed to shed expensive managerial staff while at the
same time increasing the workload for those who remained. Even though the
workload of these managers may already have been high prior to de-layering,
they could be guaranteed to comply with the new requirements for fear of being
next on the HR department’s hit list. In these circumstances de-layering would
seem to be likely to run counter to the soft HRM goal of creating a high level
of commitment among employees. Unless, of course, commitment is defined as
‘loyalty’ based on fear of losing one’s job.
From an alternative viewpoint, de-layering could be construed as a vehicle for
increasing commitment. According to this view, removing a managerial position
affords the opportunity to give more power and responsibility to those at the
level below. Assuming that people value increased responsibility, de-layering
could therefore lead to increased commitment in those who remain. From this
standpoint, it could be argued that one of the main reasons for introducing
de-layering is to generate increased commitment. Of course, even if such a
consequence was unintended, it might still have this positive effect regardless
of management’s intentions.
In conclusion, it is not possible to state in general terms whether or not de-
layering represents good or bad HRM practice. It all depends on the context
and circumstances. If prior over-manning genuinely existed, if this was broadly
accepted as being the case by all concerned, and if de-layering actually increased
the levels of responsibility for the remaining managers in a way that gave them
increased job satisfaction, then it would have clear benefits. However, it is much
less easy to justify de-layering in terms of good HRM practice if it is a pure cost
cutting exercise which results in those who remain experiencing chronic work
overload, low job satisfaction, and reduced organisational commitment.
3.3.3 De-centralisation
We noted above that large enterprises will frequently comprise several different
operating units, each with its own hierarchical structures and each reporting to a
corporate head office. Many of these organisations are engaged in a wide variety
of activities providing a diverse range of products, often embracing a number
of countries and cultures. In these circumstances there is typically considerable
centralisation of power and authority, and corporate head office frequently has
responsibility, not only for business and HRM strategy, but also for a wide
variety of HRM processes and procedures such as industrial relations, company
wide pay scales, corporate recruitment, and so on.
A number of arguments have been put forward urging the abandonment of
these highly centralised structures in favour of systems which devolve power
and responsibility to the business units. Yet again, the threat from increased
competitive pressure is often the impetus to move towards less centralised
structures. First, there are cost arguments directed at the reduction of central
overheads. Perhaps the organisation does not need a hugely expensive corporate
office filled with central support staff in New York, Tokyo, London, or some
other high cost location. A second line of argument revolves around the notion
of quality and the need to serve customers’ requirements better than in the
past. It is the managers of the local business units on the ground who are
most aware of customer needs and who are therefore best placed to act on
them quickly. But to be able to do this they need a degree of autonomy in the
management of their business which is absent where there is a large element
of central control. De-centralisation also sits well with at least some models of
HRM. From an HRM perspective, de-centralisation means devolving power and
responsibility down the line to the business unit. This autonomy not only ensures
that full use is made of people’s abilities, it also serves to increase motivation
and commitment. De-centralisation could also improve the management of pay,
since it gives freedom to local HRM departments to set up whatever pay and
incentive systems fit local needs.
3.4 Flexibility
The underlying argument about flexible working arrangements runs as follows.
In highly competitive environments, organisations must be able to respond
quickly and effectively to changes in customer demands, economic circum-
stances, competitor activities, and so on. The imperative is for rapid reaction to
the needs of the marketplace, whether it be in terms of new products, new price
structures, changes in the nature of the labour force, or whatever. The key to
achieving this, according to its advocates, is flexibility.
(1995) reviewed a number of studies and reports which looked at this question.
One of her main conclusions was that ‘While there is evidence that employ-
ers, particularly in manufacturing, are seeking enhanced flexibility from their
employees, this appears to be at the margins of craft skills rather than true
multi-skilling and to have involved job enlargement for semi-skilled employees
rather than up-skilling’ (p.169)
Turning to financial flexibility, the concept of individualised payment based
on some aspect of performance is hardly new. For example, systems of payment
according to the number of units produced (piece work) have been around
for many years. Indeed, in some selling jobs in particular, pay is largely on a
commission basis, being almost entirely a function of sales achieved. Over the
years many variants of individualised pay have been tried with mixed success. In
recent times performance related pay (PRP) linked to performance management
systems has frequently been advocated as an HRM tool. (See Module 4 and
Module 6 for a discussion of PRP and performance management respectively).
* It is necessary to distinguish here between groups with commonly available skills (e.g. word processing)
and highly skilled specialist groups (e.g. professional engineers). Most of the above disadvantages apply
mainly to the former group.
from simply adding them together and this was necessary for the complete
perception of the object.
to the values of the profession. In some cases, these values may actually
conflict with organisational values. For example, a value that is widely held
among the scientific community is the notion that a scientist has a duty
to ensure that any new discovery should be placed in the public domain
through publication in scientific journals. In this way findings can be avail-
able to other scientists and can be the subject of their scrutiny. It is easy
to see how this could conflict with organisational priorities and values. For
example, how many organisations would wish to inform its competitors
about the fruits of its expensive research and development activities by
having research findings published in scientific journals?
• Organisational commitment, as conceptualised in HRM models, is seen
as commitment to the organisation as a whole. However, in many cases,
individuals are also likely to have commitments to sub-units of the organi-
sation, such as departments. These loyalties may not always coincide with
corporate values, and in some cases may even conflict with them.
In summary, organisational commitment is only one of a number of concepts
whose focus is the person’s level of involvement or commitment in relation
to work. The precise inter-relationship among these concepts in influencing
employee performance is not clear at the present time.
3.8 Culture
We have already encountered the concept of culture several times in this text.
For example, in Module 2, we saw how it is an important element in a number
of soft HRM models. Earlier in the present module, we talked of the idea of a
1 Artefacts and creations are regarded as the surface level of culture. These
are visible symbols which send signals to organisation members and the
outside world about the nature of the organisation. They include dress
codes, the physical layout of office space, common behaviour patterns, and
the like. How do such artefacts provide information about culture? Perhaps
a few illustrations will help here. Take the example of a school dress code
which states that all children, without exception, will be required to wear
a school uniform. This sends a signal, both within the organisation and to
the outside world, about the school’s attitude to conformity and discipline.
To take another example, an open plan office arrangement can be used to
symbolise ‘openness’ between different levels of managers. Finally, at the
behavioural level, one assumes that the friendly smile with which one is
accosted by the staff of certain airlines on boarding one of their aeroplanes
is meant to indicate the value placed by the organisation on customer care.
2 Values represent the consensus amongst organisational members about ‘how
we do things around here’. Values are less visible than artefacts and may
not always be overtly stated. Nevertheless, people are consciously aware of
them, and can articulate them fairly readily.
3 Basic assumptions are the key to understanding a particular culture. These
consist of a set of presuppositions about the nature of people, the organisa-
tion, and the environment in which it operates. Although these have been
learned through experience, individuals may have little awareness of them.
Nevertheless, it is these assumptions which, according to Schein, are the
essential defining features of a culture.
3.9 Summary
In this module, a number of key HRM themes have been examined in some
depth. Quality, as one of the routes to competitive advantage, emerged as a key
theme, particularly as expressed in TQM. A number of arguments have been
Review Questions
True/False Statements
Each statement requires a single response – ‘True’ or ‘False’.
3.1 The term quality, as used in HRM, has been conceptualised in a number of
different ways.
3.2 Customer care programmes are primarily designed to heighten the awareness
of the sales team of the importance of maximising customer satisfaction.
3.6 TQM sometimes fails because employees feel it has been imposed upon them
by management.
3.8 De-layering inevitably runs counter to the soft HRM goal of increasing commit-
ment.
3.11 Functional flexibility refers to the requirement for individuals to carry out a
wide variety of work roles or activities.
3.13 One of the problems with performance related pay schemes is the difficulty of
measuring performance accurately.
3.14 According to Legge (1995) research indicates that few organisations have
adopted true functional flexibility.
3.16 For core workers, an advantage of flexible working arrangements is the high
investment that is often made in their training.
3.17 A disadvantage of flexible working arrangements for core workers is the relative
lack of job security they have, compared with the situation of peripheral
workers.
3.18 The primary aim of the QWL movement was to generate high performance,
with any benefits in job satisfaction being of secondary importance.
3.20 One of the disadvantages of team working is its tendency to impede the process
of de-layering.
3.21 Not everyone necessarily wants the increased empowerment offered by team
working.
3.22 The essential feature of a learning organisation is the level of support the
organisation provides for employees to go on educational courses related to
their jobs.
3.25 From a hard HRM perspective, commitment is seen as crucial for the achievement
of the organisation’s strategic objectives.
3.26 Soft HRM theories take the view that compliance is essentially the same thing
as commitment.
3.27 Although compliance and commitment may be very different concepts theoret-
ically, they are hard to distinguish in practice.
3.28 A high level of continuous commitment is always beneficial for the organisation.
3.29 Guest (1992) found that more educated workers had higher levels of commit-
ment.
3.30 There is evidence that both personal and environmental factors are associated
with commitment.
3.31 Guest (1992) claimed that employee involvement schemes often failed because
they were introduced in a piecemeal way.
3.33 Research has shown that there is a strong link between commitment and
performance.
3.34 Organisational culture refers to shared values, not shared aims and objectives.
3.35 In Schein’s (1984) definition of culture, dress codes would exist at the surface
level of culture.
3.36 According to Schein (1985), one of the ways in which leaders can influence
culture change is by example.
3.37 According to Schein (1985), leaders only have a minor role to play in bringing
about culture change.
3.38 Strong cultures have the advantage of encouraging diversity of views in the
organisation.
3.1 Discuss the various ways in which quality has been defined in HRM.
3.2 Describe the main components of TQM. How well does TQM work in practice?
3.3 What are the advantages and limitations of bureaucratic organisational struc-
tures?
3.4 What are the arguments for and against the suggestion that organisations can
improve their performance by developing a strong culture?
Your task is to provide a written summary of the kind of advice you would
give the company. As an external consultant, you would wish to seek further
information and clarification from the airline before committing yourself to specific
recommendations. Your answer should include:
References
Anthony, P.D. (1994). Managing Culture, Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Atkinson, J. (1984). ‘Manpower strategies for flexible organisations’, Personnel Manage-
ment, 16, 28–31.
Blyton, P. and Morris, J. (1992). ‘HRM and the limits of flexibility’, Reassessing Human
Resources Management, eds. Blyton, P. And Turnbull, J., London: Sage.
Deal, T.E. and Kennedy, A. (1982). Corporate Cultures, Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley.
Deming, W.E. (1982). Quality, Productivity, and Competitive Position, Cambridge, Mass:
MIT Press.
Guest, D.E. (1987). ‘Human resource management and industrial relations’, Journal of
Management Studies, 24, 503–21.
Guest, D.E. (1992). ‘Employee commitment and control’, Employment Relations, eds.
Hartley, J.F. and Stephenson, G.M. Oxford: Blackwell.
Hakim, C. (1990). ‘Core and periphery in employers’ workforce strategies: evidence
from the 1987 ELUS survey’, Work, Employment and Society, 4, 157–88.
Hill, S. (1991). ‘Why quality circles failed but total quality management might work’,
British Journal of Industrial Relations, 29, 541–68.
Juran, J.M. (1988). Juran on Planning for Quality, New York: Free Press.
Legge, K. (1995). Human Resource Management Rhetorics and Realities, Basingstoke: Macmil-
lan.
McGee, G.W. and Ford, R.C. (1987). ‘Two (or more?) dimensions of organizational
commitment: re-examination of the affective and continuance commitment scales’, Journal
of Applied Psychology, 72, 638–41.
Ogbanna, E. and Wilkinson, B. (1990). ‘Corporate strategy and corporate culture: the
view from the checkout’, Personnel Review, 19, 9–15.
Pedler, M., Burgoyne, J. and Boydell, T. (1991). The Learning Company, Maidenhead:
McGraw-Hill.
Schein, E.H. (1984). ‘Coming to a new awareness of organizational culture’, Sloan
Management Review, Winter: 3–16.
Schein, E.H. (1985). Organizational Culture and Leadership, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Wilkinson, A., Marchington, M., Goodman, J. and Ackers, P. (1992). ‘Total quality
management and employee involvement’, Human Resource Management Journal, 2, 1–20.
Analysis of Performance
Requirements
Contents
4.1 Specifying Performance Requirements 4/2
4.1.1 Organisational Performance Requirements 4/3
4.1.2 Group Performance Requirements 4/4
4.1.3 lndividual Performance Requirements 4/4
4.2 Core Abilities, Skills and Motivational Characteristics 4/5
4.3 Trait Versus Behavioural Indicators of Performance 4/7
4.3.1 Trait Indicators of Performance 4/7
4.3.2 Limitations of the Trait Approach 4/8
4.3.3 Behavioural Indicators of Performance 4/9
4.4 Job Analysis Techniques 4/10
4.4.1 Questionnaires 4/11
4.4.2 Checklists 4/11
4.4.3 One-to-one Interviews 4/11
4.4.4 Observation and Interview 4/12
4.4.5 Group Interview 4/12
4.4.6 The Conference Method 4/13
4.4.7 Work Diaries 4/13
4.4.8 Work Participation 4/14
4.4.9 Critical Incidents 4/14
4.5 Job Analysis and Strategic HRM 4/15
4.6 Competencies 4/16
4.6.1 MCI Competencies 4/17
4.6.2 Behavioural Competencies 4/18
4.6.3 Organisational Competencies 4/21
4.7 Performance and Pay 4/21
4.7.1 What Pay Means for the Individual 4/21
4.7.2 What Pay Means for the Organisation 4/23
4.7.3 What Constitutes Pay? 4/24
4.7.4 Pay and Individual Work Roles 4/24
4.7.5 Job Evaluation 4/26
4.7.6 Pay and Performance 4/27
4.8 Summary 4/29
Review Questions 4/30
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
• productivity
• absenteeism
• turnover.
consider the different types of human abilities that exist and their implications
for HRM procedures and practices.
Some human characteristics are either part of an individual’s genetic make
up or are learned very early in life. Other qualities are readily developed and
changed through everyday experience or through some other means, such as
training programmes. A third type of characteristic is not so much related to
what a person is able to do, but is more concerned with what he is willing to do
in a given set of circumstances. An example of the latter is the level of effort a
person chooses to put into his work. The first of these three types can be thought
of as core characteristics, since they are fundamental to the person. The second
type is more akin to skills, while the third is motivational in nature. These three
categories are not being put forward as representing a comprehensive typology
of human abilities. Nor is it suggested that abilities can always be neatly
classified into only one of these types. For example, there is undoubtedly a
strong core element in problem-solving ability (some people are more intelligent
than others), but people’s ability to solve problems can also be improved by
teaching them problem-solving techniques. Word processing is basically a skill
but some people, presumably because they possess some relevant core attribute,
learn it more rapidly than others. Effort is a choice a person makes according
to circumstances and indeed proponents of soft HRM would argue that the
appropriate circumstances are those which engender commitment. On the other
hand common observation would suggest that some people are inherently lazy,
while others seem to put great effort into everything they do irrespective of the
circumstances.
In what way is this classification of characteristics into three types relevant
for practical purposes? Take core characteristics for example. Since they are dif-
ficult if not impossible to modify, performance in these cannot be significantly
enhanced through HRM procedures such as training, structured experience,
or coaching. Ensuring that these characteristics are present in employees is
therefore primarily a selection problem. Anything which is classified as pri-
marily a skill can, however, be improved through training and development
programmes. To the extent that motivational characteristics are a reaction to the
work environment and context, then this is where action needs to be taken to
enhance performance with respect to these abilities. For example, if high effort
is required, a payment system which rewards effort could help bring about
the desired result. The reader should remember here, however, that effort and
commitment are often only partly a reaction to circumstances and the environ-
ment. Effort and commitment can also be a more fundamental attribute of the
person and, in terms of the terminology we are using here, they could be said
to contain core elements. What this means in practice is that an organisation
can seek to enhance motivational qualities either through changing the environ-
ment, through selection (for the core element), or through some combination
of both. The best approach will depend on individual circumstances. Let us
take an example related to the motivational characteristic of commitment. Soft
HRM theory suggests that this can be increased through environmental manipu-
lations, such as employee involvement programmes. Consider a small business
providing retirement homes for the elderly. Let us assume that the organisation
faces stiff competition from a more profit oriented organisation which has just
entered the market and it decides to change its culture from one where the
predominant value system is one of caring, to one of providing an adequate
service at minimum cost and maximum profit. How easy would it be to change
the value systems of the individuals from a caring orientation to a profit orien-
tation? Given that employee commitment to such a radical change could pose
considerable difficulties might it not actually prove to be more effective from
the organisation’s point of view to offer existing staff who are unhappy with the
new culture suitably generous payments to seek alternative employment and
recruit new staff with the ‘right’ attitudes? Clearly the best approach largely
depends on the extent to which the values in question are core aspects of the
individuals concerned.
• The widespread use of the term trait in everyday language is likely to result
in performance requirements specified in this way being readily understood
by, and therefore acceptable to, all managers.
• Last, but not least, the trait concept is underpinned by a large volume
of psychological theory and research and this gives it an apparent seal of
scientific respectability.
of contexts we are discussing here? The answer in many cases must be not
very likely.
5 Traits are different from behavioural repertoires. Careful observation of
individuals performing jobs shows that it is usually possible to identify
behavioural repertoires which are particularly pertinent to a particular
aspect of the job or area of activity. For example, let us consider a work
role where the individual has to manage subordinates. Much of the ability
required here presumably relates to dealing with people at a face-to-face
level. Analysis of this aspect of the supervisory role might enable the
observer to identify a cluster of relevant behaviours here, such as, for exam-
ple: persuading others; listening to other people’s ideas; taking account of
other people’s feelings; standing one’s ground in the face of opposition;
providing praise and constructive criticism when appropriate; and so on.
These behaviours cluster together in the sense that they refer to the same
area of activity, i.e. managing subordinates. But do they constitute a trait?
To qualify as a trait these behaviours must be highly correlated in a person.
In other words, to the degree that a person displays one of these behav-
iours, they will tend to display all of them and vice versa. Even a cursory
glance at the above list suggests that this is unlikely to be the case. Why
should being a good listener necessarily mean that an individual will auto-
matically be able to stand his ground in an argument? Are good listeners
necessarily always good persuaders? Common sense strongly suggests that,
in the above example, the use of a trait label to describe this cluster of
behaviours is inappropriate and misleading. The dangers of attaching an
unjustified trait label to a cluster of behaviours can be illustrated by means
of an example from an imaginary selection situation. Assume the cluster of
behaviours listed above is defined as a trait – we could call it ‘leadership’
for the sake of the argument. All of the behavioural tendencies are now
meant to be highly correlated in individuals. This effectively means that if
a person possesses one of them she possesses all of them and vice versa.
Consequently, to assess ‘leadership’ in a selection interview, the recruiter
would only need to obtain evidence about the presence or absence of one of
the behaviours in the cluster. If, as is being argued here, the trait assump-
tion does not hold, this would clearly not be an appropriate way to carry
out this particular set of selection interviews.
6 Many traits are core characteristics. Because the majority of traits tend to
be fundamental attributes, there is a danger that defining performance in
these terms leads to a lack of proper consideration of behaviours which can
be modified and developed – defined above as skills. While this may not
be a problem in terms of selection, it would create great difficulties in other
contexts, such as for example, where the main objective was to develop the
person’s capabilities.
which are assumed to flow from them. Also, job performance is ultimately
essentially about what the person does in the job, i.e. it is about behaviour.
Consequently, rather than relying on traits which are inferences from behaviour,
why not specify job performance requirements directly in behavioural terms?
However if we do this, we are still left with the problem that such a list of
important behaviours might well be very long. Remember here that one of the
attractions of the trait concept was the fact that it offered a means of categoris-
ing behaviours. Consequently, if we wish to focus directly on behaviour some
alternative mechanism for categorising behaviours into dimensions is clearly
required. There are a number of ways in which this has been attempted, but
most methods are based on the idea of constructing groups of behavioural
repertoires around major areas of activity in the job in question. Thus, there
might be a behavioural dimension centred on interpersonal behaviours simi-
lar to that described above. Other examples of behavioural dimensions might
revolve around activities such as: problem-solving and decision making; plan-
ning and organisation; task management; and so on. The key point here is that
the dimensions are based on areas of work activity, and no assumptions are
made about the extent to which the various individual behaviours which com-
prise the dimension are correlated within individuals. It is probably fair to say
that behavioural approaches are now dominant in the field, although the use of
traits to specify performance is still to be found in a minority of organisations.
4.4.1 Questionnaires
One technique involves the circulation of questionnaires to existing job holders
who are asked to indicate the extent to which a series of statements describes
their job. This may be in terms either of the importance of activities, or their
frequency, or both. This method can be quite time-consuming for employees,
depending on the length of the questionnaire. It can also take a significant
amount of time to develop a suitable questionnaire. However, it does have
the advantage, from the point of view of the job analyst’s time, that it can
be administered to groups of employees, or it can be distributed through the
internal mail for completion and return. This also saves time from the analyst’s
perspective. In addition, this method is particularly suitable where there are
many job holders available to complete the questionnaires. When this is the
case, various forms of statistical analysis can be carried out on the data, which is
another advantage of this method. One potential drawback with this approach is
the fact that there may be important features of the job about which the analyst is
unaware and which are therefore inadvertently omitted from the questionnaire.
Also, employees who have had limited formal education may react negatively
to the requirement to fill in a written questionnaire. This method is therefore
not recommended if significant numbers of job holders fall into this category.
It is sometimes possible to circumvent the need to spend time designing a
questionnaire by purchasing a ready made system. An example here is the
Work Profiling System developed by the well known British consulting firm of
Saville & Holdsworth. This is designed to be applicable to all managerial and
professional jobs. For the job in question, it produces a comprehensive profile
of both the key job tasks and the human abilities required to complete them. It
contains 344 activities grouped into 31 categories. Respondents select the 8 to
10 categories which are most relevant to achieving their job objectives. These
are then ranked in order of importance. Examples of the categories include:
planning, controlling and directing, counselling, and motivating. With reference
to our earlier discussion, the activities are essentially behavioural in nature and
the categories are akin to dimensions.
4.4.2 Checklists
These are similar in many ways to questionnaires, since they require the job
holder to complete a written document. In this case, however, the employee
selects only those items which apply to his job, rather than rating every state-
ment for importance. This avoids the potential problem which exists with ques-
tionnaire methods that, in an effort to be helpful to the analyst, some job holders
might provide ratings for activities which are not actually a significant part of
their job. Otherwise, checklists share many of the advantages and drawbacks of
questionnaires.
job holder who generates the list of relevant tasks or behaviours, rather than the
analyst. Since the individuals actually doing the job will almost certainly know
the job more intimately than the analyst, this is likely to be advantageous. Of
course, it is not necessary for the analyst to restrict his information gathering
to job holders. Superiors and subordinates of the job holder could also hold
valuable insights into key behavioural requirements for the job and they are also
frequently interviewed as part of the process.
A major drawback of this method is its time-consuming nature for both
parties. Moreover, the time requirement for the analyst increases as a direct
function of the number of people interviewed. The qualitative data generated
by this approach is both its strength and its weakness. Its strength is the richness
of the data and the reduced risk of missing important job elements. Its weakness
lies in the difficulty of categorising and quantifying the information.
Given the time involved, interviews as a method of job analysis are probably
better suited to more complex and perhaps more senior jobs It might also be the
preferred approach where there are only a few job holders available to provide
information.
this problem is by the use of work diaries. With this technique, the job holder
keeps a daily record of all the tasks carried out. Work diaries have the advantage
of providing a very comprehensive record of job activities. However, apart from
the demands on the job holder’s time, diary records can be very time-consuming
to analyse, especially if there are many trivial items.
might have spent her career moving up the hierarchy in a single function,
such as marketing, within a single division. Currently, and possibly more
so in the future, organisations often expect managers to move from one
job function to a completely unrelated one as the need arises. In these
circumstances one set of specialised skills is no longer enough to meet
performance requirements. This has at least two consequences for the way
in which we approach job analysis. First, since moving across functions
necessitates considerable learning, the ability to learn itself may become a
performance requirement for a variety of work roles. Following on from this,
the focus of interest may move away from the identification of job-specific
abilities in favour of more generic abilities which would be applicable across
a range of jobs.
• Attitudinal qualities. Much of HRM theorising, as we have seen, places
great emphasis on the congruence between personal and organisational
values. From this point of view, a key performance requirement would
presumably be for individuals to possess values which coincide with those
of the organisation. Given the emphasis in HRM theory on the need for
change, it is likely that the willingness to adapt to change and indeed to
react positively to it is an attitudinal quality which might well rank highly
in the list of performance requirements of many HRM managers. Traditional
job analysis has typically not had these kinds of attitudinal qualities as a
strong focus.
• The context of performance measurement. Traditionally, job analysis has
mainly been used in the context of individual performance in narrowly
defined job roles. As such, it proved to be very valuable as an aid to
activities such as selection, performance appraisal, and training. Used in this
way it has helped selectors to know what qualities to look for, appraisers
to know what to appraise, and trainers to identify key training needs. The
arrival of HRM, with its emphasis on the over-riding need to maximise
performance, meant that the whole concept of performance was put in
a much broader context than before. Performance was now seen not just
as the ability to do one’s own day-to-day job well, but also included the
person’s contribution to team activities, commitment to the organisation’s
overall objectives, and so on. In other words, all aspects of performance,
across a wide range of activities, now had to be put under the microscope
if the goal of continuous improvement was to be attained. Seen in this
context, the traditional focus of job analysis was perceived by many as
overly narrow in scope.
4.6 Competencies
As we have just seen, from an HRM perspective, the traditional job analysis
approach did not sit comfortably with the new ways of thinking about organisa-
tions in general and the specification of performance requirements in particular.
Coincidentally, around this time, a number of management researchers and
theorists were developing the idea of competencies as a way of spelling out
performance requirements. For many, this seemed to be the answer they were
The MCI has on the whole had less impact on organisations than was initially
hoped. At least four reasons can be put forward to explain this state of affairs.
While some of these criticisms of the MCI approach may have some validity,
there is undoubtedly considerable value in setting minimal standards of manage-
rial competencies. MCI competencies can do much to inform those responsible
for management education and training about what managers really need. Per-
haps even more important, the existence of minimum standards will hopefully
do much to encourage those organisations in which investment in the training
and development of managers has been inadequate to improve their standards.
Finally, MCI competency lists are potentially of considerable value for those
smaller organisations which lack the expertise and resources to carry out their
own job or competency analysis.
1982). This approach in effect addresses most of the concerns raised above
about the MCI system, although since the two developments occurred more or
less in parallel, this was by accident rather than design. The McBer model explic-
itly seeks to identify excellence in performance, rather than minimum standards.
Also, unlike the MCI, the focus is not so much on generic abilities, but rather on
organisation and job-specific competencies. Thus, the normal expectation would
be for each organisation to develop its own sets of competencies for different
managerial roles. The McBer approach does not make any particular distinction
between fundamental competencies and those which are trainable, and both
tend to be present in typical behavioural competency lists. These differences
in emphasis probably explain why, so far as the UK is concerned, behavioural
competencies have been taken up so much more enthusiastically than the MCI
model.
The focus of the McBer model is behavioural, although it recognises that, as we
have already discussed above, many behaviours are likely to be underpinned
by underlying trait and personality characteristics. A number of techniques
have been used in an attempt to measure behavioural competencies. Of those,
probably the most commonly used method of creating competency lists is the
critical incident technique described above in section 4.4.9 on job analysis. It
will be no surprise to the reader, given our earlier discussion on the practical
difficulties of dealing with large disparate lists of behaviours, that it is normal
for behavioural statements (typically called elements) to be grouped together
into dimensions. It is normally these dimensions which are referred to as
competencies. The elements are typically grouped into competencies on the
basis that they jointly affect some important area of performance. In these,
and many other respects, the notion of behavioural competencies is really very
similar to the behavioural approach to specifying job requirements described
above.
Given that the behavioural competency model is not fundamentally different
from previous behavioural approaches, its much greater popularity is probably
as much due to an accident of time and circumstances as to anything else.
The arrival of competencies on the scene coincided with the increased interest
in measuring all aspects of performance. Thus competency analysis seemed
to meet the needs of the time, since it appeared to offer an alternative to
narrowly focused traditional job analysis. It seemed to offer a broader and more
integrated way of assessing performance. It also had the advantage of being
readily understandable to, and therefore user friendly for, the new breed of
general managers who were now expected to take a more direct role in HRM
activities than they had ever been required to do in the past.
While the behavioural competencies approach shared many of the strengths
of the behavioural techniques already in existence, it also shared most of its
weaknesses. Limitations of the behavioural competency approach include the
following.
1 Measurement of competencies. The difficulty of the critical incident or
behavioural event method, which is often the preferred technique for elic-
iting competencies, in dealing with changing future job requirements has
already been explained above. Also, methods for eliciting competencies fre-
of its purchasing power. Within organisations pay can help locate individual
employees in the status hierarchy. A good deal of research in the field of human
behaviour has demonstrated the importance of the concept of perceived fairness
to individuals. One of the more eloquent theories in this area is that of Adams
(1965) which, as it happens, directly relates to the issue of pay and motivation.
According to Adams Equity theory (ref), a powerful source of motivation for
individuals is their sense of equity in relation to other individuals with whom
they compare themselves. According to the theory, these comparisons are made
in terms of both inputs and outcomes. In terms of a person’s work role, inputs
are everything he puts into the job, such as time, effort, and skills. Outcomes are
what he receives in return. Pay is of course a major outcome, but it is seldom
the only one. Others might include status and recognition. The idea is that
people compare the ratio of their own inputs and outcomes to those of others
and when their own ratio fails to match that of the comparison others this leads
to an unpleasant psychological state. This has a variety of consequences for
the person and the organisation. For example, when a person compares himself
to another, if his outcome/input ratio (the amount he gets out divided by the
amount he puts in) is less than the other individual’s he experiences a feeling
of underpayment inequity. This could occur in a number of ways, such as both
parties put the same amount (same inputs) in but the other receives more pay
(other has higher outcomes), or conversely both receive the same pay but the
other person puts in less effort. Perceived inequity can also occur the other way
around when someone’s outcome/input ratio is greater than the comparison
other. This could occur if, for example, the individual receives more pay than
the comparison person, even although both put in the same amount of effort.
This is known as overpayment inequity and is experienced psychologically as
guilt. The theory states that whenever there is inequity the person will act in
such a way as to restore equilibrium. This can be done in various ways. For
example if the person feels underpayment he can react by reducing his work
effort in order to reduce his inputs. Where there is perceived overpayment
inequity, one strategy might be to work harder in order to increase inputs. The
latter strategy will not work of course if the person is rewarded with more pay
for his effort, since in these circumstances he will find himself back where he
started! In general, research has tended to support the main tenets of Adams
theory (Greenberg, 1982). A key lesson from Adams theory for HR managers
is the importance employees place on perceived fairness of pay. Pay is not just
about what the money can buy. It is about a receiving a just return for one’s
efforts.
Adams theory highlights the importance of pay comparisons generally in
determining satisfaction with pay and its ability to motivate. Such comparisons
can be made at a number of different levels and taking account of these not
only makes the HR managers job more complex, it can also limit her room for
manoeuvre when trying to use pay as a motivator. At one level, individuals
obviously make comparison with others doing the same or similar work within
their organisation. Internal comparisons are also made with individuals at dif-
ferent levels of the hierarchy and with those carrying out different work roles.
This leads to the vexed question of pay differentials within an organisation.
How much should a person be rewarded for possessing extra skill for taking
for individuals with particular skills, wage rates will tend to be high, the reverse
being the case where there is over-supply and weak demand. Thus for example,
if an organisation employs engineers with highly specialised skills who are in
short supply in the labour market, it is likely that it will need to pay them high
salaries in order to recruit and retain them. Conversely, individuals in work
roles where supply is high and demand low are likely to be paid less highly.
While organisations obviously need to take the external labour market into
consideration in their payment policies, payment differentials according to work
role are by no means purely based on supply and demand considerations.
In most organisations it is generally accepted that individuals in some work
roles contribute more to the organisation than in others and that payment
arrangements should reflect this. While intuitively it seems to make sense that
the rewards people receive should vary according to the work they do and
the contribution they make, assessing what these differential contributions are
and how they should be translated into pay is another matter. Most would
agree, for example, that the chief executive of an organisation should be paid
more than say, a human resource manager. But how much more and based on
what exactly? What is the appropriate pay differential, if any, between the head
of engineering and the chief accountant? How do we measure their different
contributions and how exactly do we attach a monetary value to these? Should
electricians be paid more than secretaries and if so, how much more and on
what basis? And so on.
What we are talking about here is the process of comparing different work
roles in order to determine appropriate pay rates. There are actually two distinct
components in this process. First of all, it is necessary to analyse the similarities
and differences among the various work roles being compared. There are many
factors to be taken into account here. Examples of relevant factors might include:
level of responsibility in the job; length and amount of training required; amount
of stress experienced in the work role; repetitiveness and boredom; length of
working week; working conditions; supervisory and leadership responsibilities;
problem solving requirements in the job; physical demands of the job; and so
on. Although the list of comparative factors is potentially very large, this is in
fact the easier of the two components to deal with. The second component is
intrinsically more difficult. Since the purpose of this exercise is to determine
relative pay, once the relevant factors such as responsibilities, skill requirements,
and so on, have been attributed to the various work roles, it is necessary to
determine the monetary value to be attributed to each of the different factors.
How much should a person be paid for a given amount of stress and how does
this compare with a given level of responsibility, or a given level of physical
demands?
As far as the first component of this process is concerned, detailed descriptions
of the various jobs are essential. Of course, job analysis data can be used to
provide a fairly accurate picture of the similarities and differences between
work roles in terms of duties, responsibilities, demands and so on. However,
these methods tell us nothing about the second component of the process – the
monetary value that should be placed on these factors. To do this we must look
to methods of job evaluation.
• Pay and individual performance. There has been a long history of linking
pay to performance in various ways, based on the simple philosophy that
people will be motivated to perform better if their pay is somehow linked
to performance. The early history of tying pay to performance tended to
focus on blue-collar workers, with the use of so-called payment by results
schemes. These had a variety of formats but typically pay would be tied in
some way to output. In its simplest form, payment by results operates on
the basis that the more units a person produced in a given time period the
more he or she was paid. However, while rewarding workers financially
for increased output is not surprisingly likely to lead to higher volumes of
goods produced, there are many problems with the use of these schemes,
at least in their pure form. In the first place, output is rarely purely a
function of the individual’s efforts but is influenced by many other factors,
such as for example the reliability of the machinery being used and this
can lead to feelings of unfairness if individuals receive different amounts
of pay based on factors outside their control. Also, few organisations can
sell unlimited numbers of products and this clearly puts constraints on
the amounts individuals can be allowed to produce. In most organisations
there are large groups of employees who do not directly produce goods but
who provide a vital support role for the production process. How is their
pay to be determined fairly in comparison to those in the front line of the
production process? Finally, and most importantly, common sense tells us
that in many situations, there tends to be an inverse relationship between
quantity and quality. It is in the nature of things that when a person is
working extremely quickly to produce as many units as possible, there is
a real danger that quality will suffer. So by rewarding quantity of output
one is downgrading the importance of quality, which of course does not sit
well with the emphasis on quality and customer satisfaction that is central
to much current HRM thinking these days.
A more recent development in this area has been the introduction of per-
formance related pay schemes. While these have in common with payment-
by-results schemes the central idea that pay is somehow made contingent
on performance, the two are different to each other sin important ways.
For example, unlike payment-by-results schemes, PRP is aimed mainly at
white collar and managerial staff. Secondly, PRP schemes are typically
linked into performance management systems (see Module 6). Under PRP,
a proportion of each manager’s salary is based on a systematic evaluation
of his or her performance over an agreed period, such as the previous
year. Performance is often, but not always, based on the judgment of the
person’s immediate superior. These schemes have grown substantially in
recent years according to Kessler (1994) who has reviewed the evidence
on their use. However, it is a moot point how successful they have been,
given the many difficulties that have arisen with their use. Two particular
problems deserve special mention here. First, there is the problem of the
appropriateness of the performance criteria frequently used as the basis of
the judgement of performance. Job and competency analysis can give us a
good overall picture of the performance requirements in a given work role,
but this is not the same thing as specifying which aspects of performance
should be rewarded with additional pay when individuals within a work
role are being compared. For some jobs there are reasonably objective crite-
ria against which to judge performance from a pay perspective. Thus, for a
salesperson, number of units sold might be such a yardstick. But many jobs
do not contain such clear-cut indicators. For example, what criteria would
or could be used to evaluate performance in the jobs of canteen manager,
training officer, or medical doctor? It is important to remember here that
it is not just a question of defining criteria; it is also necessary to measure
them accurately. Following on from the last statement, the second problem
relates to the vehicle which is used to decide how far each individual has
met the performance criteria, whatever they may be. This is frequently done
in the context of some kind of performance appraisal system. However, as
we shall see in Module 6, there are many difficulties and pitfalls in carrying
out performance appraisal and these bring into question whether appraisal
systems are up to the task of determining what different individuals should
be paid in a valid and equitable manner.
• Pay and team performance. Team-based performance contingent pay
schemes are often run on similar principles to individual based ones, except
that the pay is based on the performance of the team as a whole. Each
individual in the team is thus paid the same amount, regardless of varia-
tions in individual performance. Where an organisation wishes to emphasis
team working, payment on the basis of team performance has the potential
advantage of fostering a team spirit and focusing the mind on the need for
the team to work on a co-operative basis towards a common goal. A further
advantage of team-based payment is the fact that it allows individuals who
are not directly producers, but who are nevertheless vital contributors to
team functioning, to be adequately rewarded. Despite these advantages,
there can be problems with team-based performance contingent pay. From
a motivational perspective, one potential problem is the breaking of the
link between individual effort and individual pay. Specifically, where is
the incentive for a person to increase his or her performance if he is not
rewarded for his individual efforts and instead any rewards are shared with
the group? Conversely, what is to prevent a person ‘free loading’ on the
backs of others by putting in a minimum effort and still sharing in the
rewards of the team as a whole? In relation to the last point, what effects
might the existence of such free loaders have on the morale and motivation
of the rest of the team?
• Pay and organisational performance. A number of schemes linking a pro-
portion of pay to the performance of the organisation as a whole have
been used over the years. Usually, these consist of some form of profit
sharing scheme. Such schemes have the potential advantages of encourag-
ing organisation-wide effort and perhaps helping to foster commitment to
the organisation’s objectives. However, there is the danger that linking pay
to performance defined purely as profits might encourage too much focus
on short-term, at the expense of longer-term, objectives. The limitations of
using profit as a sole criterion of organisational performance have already
been referred to earlier in this module. There is also the slightly tricky issue
of what should happen about profit-related pay in years where the organ-
isation makes no profit or even a loss. There is a danger that, following
several years of profit-related payments, employees develop an expectation
that these will always be forthcoming. In these circumstances, the absence
of such payments in lean years could actually function as a disincentive. In
any event, it is questionable whether these types of payment can ever have
much incentive value for the majority of employees, given the remoteness
of the link between the performance of any one individual and the profits
generated by the organisation as a whole.
4.8 Summary
The analysis of performance requirements is a critical task for operational HRM.
Performance requirements can be specified at the organisational, group, or
individual level and in terms of end results or process criteria. Early approaches
to the analysis of individual performance requirements often focused on traits,
but this is now being replaced by a behaviour-focused approach. Job analysis
is a set of procedures which can be used to identify the key tasks involved
in specific jobs and the human qualities needed to perform these effectively.
The recent popularity of competency approaches is partly a response to the
perceived narrow focus of traditional job analysis. Despite their popularity,
there is a number of measurement and other problems associated with the use
of competencies.
The analysis of performance requirements underpins the use of payment
systems as a motivational tool in organisations. Pay is an important area of
HRM activity and, as the module shows, there are many complexities in the
application of pay policies in organisations.
This module has mainly addressed the question of how the key performance
requirements within organisations might be identified. However, it is one thing
to be able to define in general terms what individuals need to be able to do to
perform well. It is quite another to be able to measure these qualities accurately
in a person. We turn our attention to this question in the next two modules.
Review Questions
True/False Statements
Each statement requires a single response – ‘True’ or ‘False’.
4.1 Unlike HRM, traditional personnel management is not concerned with improving
the performance of individuals.
4.2 HRM differs from traditional personnel management insofar as it puts perform-
ance in a wider context and includes group and organisational level perform-
ance.
4.3 End results measures of performance are always preferable to process measures.
4.4 Meeting quality targets and group cohesiveness are both end results criteria of
performance.
4.5 It is usually better to have composite performance criteria, rather than relying
on any one criterion.
4.6 High levels of employee turnover can either contribute to or detract from
enhanced performance, depending on the circumstances.
4.7 One of the problems of using productivity criteria to measure individual per-
formance is the fact that, for managers in particular, many of the key elements
in the job cannot really be quantified.
4.8 It is not possible to have a characteristic which has both core and skill elements.
4.11 The idea that there are underlying traits which are partly responsible for a
person’s ability to carry out the activities required in the job successfully is
highly controversial.
4.12 One of the big advantages of using traits to specify performance requirements
is the fact that traits are directly observable.
4.13 One of the weaknesses of the trait approach is the inconsistency it tends
to create amongst managers when they are trying to specify performance
requirements.
4.14 The fact that, when behavioural indicators are used to specify performance
requirements, there is no need to categorise them in any way constitutes one
of the major advantages of this method.
4.15 Job analysis techniques always focus directly on the behaviour of job holders.
4.16 Blum and Naylor (1968) list nine main methods of job analysis.
4.17 A problem with questionnaire methods of job analysis is the difficulty of carrying
out statistical analysis on information collected in this way.
4.18 As methods of job analysis, checklists and questionnaires have little in common.
4.19 The conference method of job analysis uses experts to produce lists of relevant
job behaviours.
4.20 The critical incident method of job analysis focuses on real events which have
occurred in the job in the past and which exemplify either very good or very
poor performance.
4.21 Traditional job analysis has tended to focus on job specific abilities, rather than
generic ones.
4.22 Although the term competency is used to describe three different concepts, all
three were designed for the same purposes.
4.24 MCI competencies are often particularly valuable for small organisations.
4.25 The McBer competency approach represented a radical departure from previous
behavioural approaches to specifying performance requirements.
4.26 The critical incident method is one of the most commonly used methods to
elicit behavioural competencies.
4.27 There is now sufficient evidence available to conclude that most behavioural
competencies are generic.
4.28 The organisational competency approach is not concerned with the competen-
cies of individuals.
4.29 One of the advantages of the organisational competency approach is the fact
that it can feed into strategic decision making about what the organisation
might be capable of achieving.
4.1 What are the various criteria which could be used to specify performance
requirements at the organisational level? What are the limitations of each?
4.2 What are the disadvantages of using a trait approach for specifying performance
requirements?
4.3 Discuss the potential inadequacies of traditional job analysis from a strategic
HRM point of view.
Situation One: A client wants a job analysis carried out for all of the junior
managerial positions in her company. There are currently 120 people in these
positions and the client needs a comprehensive set of competencies to cover all of
these positions. What method(s) of job analysis would you recommend and why?
Situation Two: A client has asked for a job analysis to be undertaken for the job
of painter. The firm is a small one specialising in painting a mile long railway
bridge across the river Forth in Scotland. There are a total of 25 painters, who are
supervised by two foremen. In addition, there is a general manager who is in charge
of the whole operation. Which method(s) of job analysis would you recommend
and why?
Situation Three: A medium sized producer of children’s clothes wants to find out the
essential traits needed to be a successful salesperson in the organisation. Almost all
of the sales occur through retail outlets and the sales force spend most of their time
visiting retailers in order to persuade them to buy the product. There are several
competitors in the marketplace and the performance of the sales force is critical for
the survival of the company. Consequently, the client is prepared to spend significant
amounts of money to get as comprehensive a picture of the successful salesperson’s
key traits as possible. What method(s) would you recommend and why?
Situation Four: A multinational oil company has asked for a competency analysis to
be carried out on senior managerial roles in the organisation. There are approx-
imately 200 senior managers in the organisation, based all over the world. Most
of them have high pressure jobs where a mistake can be extremely costly for the
organisation. The organisation strongly believes in the need to continually adapt
and change in order to survive and has adopted functional flexibility as one way to
facilitate this process. What would you recommend in this case?
References
Adams, J.S. (1965). ‘Inequity in social exchange’, Advances in Experimental Social Psychol-
ogy, ed. Berkowitz, L.
Armstrong, M. and Murlis, H. (1994). ‘Reward Management’, London: Kogan Page.
Blum, L. and Naylor, J.C. (1968). Industrial Psychology, New York: Harper & Row.
Boyatzis, R. (1982). The Competent Manager, New York: Wiley.
Flanagan, J.C. (1954). ‘The critical incident technique’, Psychological Bulletin, 51, 327–58.
Gerhart, B. (1995). ‘Rewards’, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Organizational Behavior, ed.
Nicholson, N., Oxford: Blackwell.
Keenan, A. (1997). ‘Selection for potential: The case of graduate recruitment’, International
Handbook of Selection and Assessment, eds. Anderson, N. and Herriot, P., Chichester: Wiley.
Kessler, I. (1994). ‘Performance pay’, Personnel Management, ed. Sissan K., Oxford:
Blackwell.
Sparrow, P.R. (1997). ‘Organizational competencies: Creating a strategic behavioural
framework for selection and assessment’, International Handbook of Selection and Assess-
ment, eds. Anderson, N. and Herriot, P., Chichester: Wiley.
Spencer, L.M. and Spencer, S.M. (1993). Competence at Work: Models for Superior Perform-
ance, London: Prentice Hall.
Contents
5.1 Selection in Context 5/2
5.1.1 The Importance of Selection 5/2
5.1.2 Strategic HRM and Selection 5/2
5.2 The Selection Paradigm 5/3
5.2.1 Job Analysis 5/4
5.2.2 Decisions on Choice of Selection Tools 5/4
5.2.3 Making Recruitment Decisions and Collecting Data 5/5
5.2.4 Validation Procedures 5/5
5.3 The Process of Validation 5/6
5.3.1 Reliability 5/6
5.3.2 Validity 5/6
5.3.3 Using Correlation Coefficients to Estimate Reliability and Validity 5/7
5.3.4 Meta Analysis 5/8
5.4 The Usefulness of Selection Devices 5/10
5.5 Selection Tools 5/10
5.5.1 Application Forms and Biodata 5/11
5.5.2 Reference Reports 5/12
5.5.3 The Interview 5/14
5.5.4 Psychometric Tests 5/17
5.5.5 Simulations and Assessment Centres 5/20
5.6 Summary 5/22
Review Questions 5/22
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
• understand the relationship between strategic HRM and selection.
• describe the selection paradigm and understand its relevance for selection.
• explain how a selection matrix is used.
• describe Muchinsky’s analysis of the usefulness of selection devices.
• understand the concepts of reliability, validity, and meta analysis.
• evaluate the usefulness of application forms, biodata and references.
• distinguish between structured and unstructured interviews.
• understand how psychometric tests are used in selection.
• describe how assessment centres are used in selection.
JOB ANALYSIS
RECRUITMENT DECISIONS
VALIDATION PROCEDURES
Problem-solving
and l l l
decision-making
Planning and
organising l
Commitment l
Flexibility l
5.3.1 Reliability
Reliability, of which there are several types, refers to consistency of measurement.
Two of the main types of reliability are inter-rater reliability and test-retest
reliability.
1 Inter-rater reliability mainly applies to situations where two or more
recruiters make subjective judgements about candidates and it is essentially
a measure of the amount of agreement between them. A good example
where the use of inter-rater reliability is appropriate is the selection inter-
view. Suppose two interviewers see the same group of candidates for a
job and both rate each candidate for overall performance in the interview.
Assume each candidate has a separate interview with each interviewer and
that each has no knowledge of the ratings made by the other. Inter-rater
reliability is the degree of agreement between the two interviewers in the
scores they give each candidate. Clearly, if there is marked disagreement
between the interviewers, then both cannot be right and both could easily
be wrong!
2 Test-retest reliability refers to the extent to which there is consistency in the
measure over time. In the context of an interview, this could be investigated
by asking an interviewer to interview and rate the same group of candidates
on two occasions separated by sufficient time so that the interviewer could
not remember the second time around what ratings he had given on the first
set of interviews. The degree of consistency from one interview to another,
in terms of the extent to which each candidate tends to get the same or
similar scores on both occasions, is the measure of test-retest reliability. To
take another example, if a company was selecting design engineers it might
give applicants a test of spatial ability as part of the recruitment process.
To assess test-retest reliability, the test would be given on two occasions
and the degree of agreement between the pairs of scores produced by each
applicant is the measure of reliability.
Although reliability is necessary if a selection device is to be satisfactory, it is
not in itself sufficient to ensure that this is the case. The test must also be valid.
5.3.2 Validity
Validity is concerned with whether a measuring instrument actually measures
what it is supposed to. In the present context, a valid selection tool is one which
predicts job performance. The objective of all selection is to identify those who
will perform best in the job. We can now look again at the above example of
the use of a test of spatial ability to recruit engineers to illustrate the distinction
between validity and reliability. The test might be perfectly reliable in the sense
that any engineer taking the test gets exactly the same score when it is taken on
separate occasions. However, if test scores are unrelated to how well applicants
subsequently perform in the job, the test is not measuring what it is supposed
to measure, i.e. job performance. In other words the test lacks validity. In this
context it does not matter whether or not the test looks as if it might be relevant
for identifying who will perform well in the job. All that counts is whether
it actually does so when it is checked out. The two most important types of
validity for our purposes are predictive validity and concurrent validity.
HRM. Correlation coefficients can be calculated for any two sets of measures
the reader cares to think of. For example, common observation suggests that
height and weight are related to each other, since tall people tend to be heavier
than short people. However, the relationship is not perfect, since there are some
short fat people and some tall thin people. By correlating height and weight in
a sample of people, a numerical estimate of the strength of the relationship can
be obtained. To take another example, as cars age their efficiency declines as
a result of general wear and tear, and consequently they will tend to consume
more fuel. By taking a sample of cars of different ages, measuring the number of
miles they will travel on a fixed amount of fuel, and calculating the correlation
coefficient, the degree of association between car age and fuel efficiency can be
estimated. In this case, the reader should note that the correlation is negative,
since as one variable (age) increases, the other (number of miles travelled for
a fixed amount of fuel) decreases. Height and weight on the other hand, are
positively correlated, since as one increases, so does the other. Mathematically
speaking, the possible range of correlation coefficients can range from r = +1.00,
which constitutes a perfect positive relationship, through to r = −1.00, which
represents a perfect negative relationship. A correlation of r = 0.00 indicates that
the two variables are completely unrelated.
Returning to the question of reliability and validity, both are concerned with
the estimation of the relationship between pairs of scores. Thus for example,
in the case of inter-rater reliability of an interview, each pair of scores would
consist of the ratings a candidate was given by the two interviewers. For test-
retest reliability, in the example of the spatial ability test given above, the two
scores attained by each individual at different points in time would be the paired
scores. The predictive validity of the same test would be assessed by pairing
each individual’s test score with a subsequent measure of her job performance.
What then would constitute satisfactory reliability and validity? No absolute
answer can be given to this question, since it will depend to some extent
on circumstances. However, as far as reliability is concerned, anything above
r = 0.85 − 0.9 would usually be regarded as good, while correlations below about
0.7 might lead one to question whether reliability was adequate. For various
technical reasons which need not concern the reader, one would not expect such
high correlations in the case of validity coefficients. Here, anything above around
r = 0.5 would be regarded as high, while values between approximately 0.4 and
0.5 would also be typically regarded as good in this context. Even 0.3 would
probably be regarded as adequate in some selection situations, although when
correlations are much below this, it begins to become questionable whether or
not the validity of the selection tool is high enough for it to be of much practical
value to the selector.
Application Forms
An application form can be used both as a screening device to decide who
will proceed to the next stage of the selection process, and to help guide the
subsequent interview. Application forms are widely used for all sorts of jobs,
so that we can conclude that applicability is high. There is little direct evidence
available on the reliability and validity of the traditional application form.
However, although hard evidence on validity is lacking, it seems reasonable to
assume that the time invested in designing an application form is likely to have
a bearing on its usefulness to the selector. A survey of employer practices in
this area conducted by the present author in the UK (Keenan, 1995) found that
the typical organisation appeared to devote little time or effort to this task and
poorly designed application forms seemed to be the norm. While this meant that
for these organisations the application form represented a low cost selection tool,
the adverse effects of using badly designed application forms almost certainly
far outweighed any benefits accruing from low costs. This was especially so
given the fact that many of the businesses in the survey were eliminating large
numbers of candidates based on the information contained in the application
form. Clearly, poor pre-selection arising from inadequate application forms is
likely to result in many potentially high job performers being eliminated at the
initial stage of the process. This loss of potentially good recruits has obvious
damaging effects on subsequent stages of the selection process. The point which
seemed to be lost on many of the organisations in the Keenan study is the fact
that selection devices used at the later stages in the process can only be applied
to those who are left after pre-screening, and if the screening process fails to
bring forward a sufficient number of good applicants, then selection will not
succeed. This will be the case irrespective of the validity of the selection devices
used in the later stages.
Biodata
Biodata is one way to take a more systematic approach to pre-screening. This
technique is mainly applicable where large numbers of applicants have to be
screened out. Not only is the process of reading large numbers of application
forms very time-consuming, but the assessments made are highly subjective and
therefore possibly of little validity. The biodata approach offers an alternative
which not only saves time, but which also uses an objective assessment system.
The procedure involves assigning scores to individual items of biographical
information provided by applicants. These scores are then added together to pro-
duce a total for each applicant. Only those with scores above a pre-determined
cut-off point are invited for interview. The procedure for determining how items
are scored is as follows. First, there is a development stage to determine which
of a series of trial items are answered differently by high performing compared
with low performing existing employees. Weights are then allocated to each
item depending on the extent to which it differentiates between the high and
low performing groups. Thus, for example, an item which is answered very
differently by high performers compared with low performers would be given a
larger weighting (and therefore contribute more to the total score) than an item
which was answered only slightly differently by the two groups.
Usefulness of Biodata
The evidence from meta analytic reviews indicates that biodata can be reason-
ably valid (Hunter and Hunter, 1984). However, as far as fairness is concerned,
there are some concerns about possible problems of unintentional discrimination
with biodata. Remember that the weighting given to any item is purely empir-
ical based on the extent to which it is answered differently by high and low
performing existing employees. Let us take an example to illustrate the poten-
tial problem. Suppose that the measure of job performance used to construct a
biodata scale was job tenure, with employees who stay with the organisation
for a long time being classified as more satisfactory performers than those who
do not. Let us further assume that location, measured as distance from place of
work, turned out to be an item which predicted tenure, with those employees
who lived nearer to their place of work tending to stay longer with the company.
Weighting this item on the biodata form in favour of those who live close to the
workplace could be discriminatory should it happen to be the case that locations
close to the workplace were predominantly characterised by members of one
ethnic group, while locations further away were characterised by another ethnic
group. Clearly, the latter would be discriminated against since, by virtue of
where they lived, more of them would tend to be eliminated at the pre-selection
stage.
is, a word of caution is in order here. There are undoubtedly many occasions
when reference reports need to be interpreted with care. Those who provide
references are sometimes inclined to paint an overly favourable picture of the
candidate who may, after all, be a colleague or even a friend. A cynic might
also be inclined to argue that one of the best ways to off-load a poor performing
employee is to provide him or her with a glowing reference. In conclusion, it
would seem that a number of factors are likely to influence the authenticity
of the information contained in references, including the relationship between
candidate and referee, the questions asked of the referee in the first place, and
the format of the reference.
fact, the first major meta analysis of studies of interview validity reached a
similar conclusion with a reported true validity of r = 0.11 (Hunter and Hunter,
1984). However, in the late eighties and early 1990s the picture changed, with
four major meta analyses all concluding that the interview can have quite
high validity, provided that a structured format is used. Table 5.1 shows the
results of these meta analyses. The difference in validity between structured and
unstructured formats can be clearly seen.
Sources:
Weisner, W.H. and Cronshaw, S.F. (1988). ‘A meta-analytic investigation of the impact of interview format
and degree of structure on the validity of the employment interview’, Journal of Occupational Psychology,
61, 275–90.
Wright, P.M., Lichtenfels, P.A. and Pursell, E.D. (1989). ‘The structured interview: Additional studies and
a meta-analysis’, Journal of Occupational Psychology, 62, 191–9.
McDaniel. M.A., Whetzel, D.R., Schmidt, F.L. and Maurer, S.D. (1994). ‘The validity of employment
interviews: A comprehensive review and meta-analysis’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 599–616.
Huffcut, A.I. and Arthur, W. (1994). ‘Hunter and Hunter re-visited: Interview validity for entry-level jobs’,
Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 184–90.
• With some, but not all, types of structured interview, the interviewers are
provided with a fixed list of questions along with a list of alternative
answers the candidate might give to each of these. When this approach is
adopted, interviewers may also be provided with scoring guides to help
them to interpret answers.
• Interviewers are provided with behaviour based rating scales and candidates
are evaluated on a number of separate dimensions of behaviour. Scores on
the rating scale dimensions are combined to arrive at an overall assessment
of the candidate.
particular test in the organisation, she should ensure that a competent per-
son has checked the relevant test manual to confirm that it meets these
requirements.
• Tests are usually primarily concerned with the measurement of core charac-
teristics, rather than skills or motivational characteristics.
• Tests do not really aim to provide a comprehensive assessment of a person
as a whole, but instead they are designed to give as accurate a measure
as possible of specific aspects of the person. An analogy with a clinical
diagnosis in medicine will perhaps illustrate what is meant here. A clinician
might order tests of several aspects of a person’s functioning, such as blood
cholesterol levels, blood pressure, cardiovascular fitness, and so on, in order
to arrive at an overall diagnosis of the individual’s state of health. The
psychometric test result would be analogous to the results from one or
more of these specific tests, rather than to the overall diagnosis.
• Psychometric tests assume that human characteristics such as personality
traits or intelligence can be quantified and that individuals can therefore
be given scores based on their test performance. Thus, to take an example
from personality testing, a person would not be labelled ‘introverted’ or
‘extraverted’ as a result of taking a test, but instead they would obtain a
score indicating their position on an introversion-extraversion continuum.
The two main categories of psychometric test used in selection are ability
tests and personality tests.
Ability Tests
These can be sub-divided into tests of general cognitive ability, tests of special
aptitudes, and physical/sensory-motor tests.
• Cognitive ability tests.This type of test, as the name applies, is designed to
assess a person’s overall mental ability, or intelligence. Overall mental ability
is sometimes split into three components. One of these relates to ability to
deal with verbal concepts. A second is concerned with numerical ability,
while the third measures a person’s ability to comprehend and visualise
spatial relationships. These three components are normally correlated with
each other to some extent so that a person who is good at one also tends to
be reasonably good at the others. However, they are also sufficiently distinct
to allow them to be treated as separate components of overall mental ability.
• Tests of special aptitude. It has long been assumed that, in addition to
general mental abilities of the sort described above, people have specific
mental aptitudes which might make them more or less suited to particular
types of task. Examples of tests which are designed to measure specific
aptitudes would be tests of clerical aptitude or mechanical aptitude.
• Physical/Sensory-motor tests. Some abilities are the result of an interac-
tion between psychological and physical attributes of the person. These
physical/sensory-motor tests can take a variety of forms. For example,
manual dexterity tests measure, among other things, the efficiency of the
brain in using visual and other information from the environment to con-
trol complex hand and wrist movements. There are many jobs for which
Personality Tests
Ability tests are essentially tests of maximum performance in the sense that
they tell us what a person is capable of doing when they are asked to try their
best. Personality tests, on the other hand, are concerned more with a person’s
typical behaviour. Personality is about what people are usually like, rather
what they are capable of if they really try. Personality tests are more diverse
and varied than ability tests and until relatively recently the kind of summary
framework outlined above for ability tests did not exist. However, in recent years
a consensus has begun to emerge that there are five main personality dimensions.
These so-called ‘Big Five’ personality factors are: extraversion; conscientiousness;
agreeableness; neuroticism; and openness to experience.
describing what they are usually like, rather than demonstrating what they are
capable of. However, in a competitive selection situation, all the pressure is in
the other direction. In other words, the motivational conditions produced by
the selection situation encourage faking in order to display oneself in the best
possible light. In the opinion of many test experts, it is difficult if not impossible
to prevent this when people complete personality questionnaires under the
competitive pressure of a selection situation. Some producers of personality
tests claim to have designed tests which are resistant to faking, although others
are sceptical of this claim. After all, if faking can be eliminated, where are the
published reports demonstrating adequate validity of personality tests when
used in selection?
5.6 Summary
Effective selection is crucially important for organisational performance. Selec-
tion policy will often be influenced by the general HRM strategy adopted by the
organisation. The starting point for any selection exercise should be systematic
job analysis. There are several alternative selection tools available to the recruiter
and it is very important that the right choice of tools for the vacancy in question
is made if selection is to be successful. Key parameters here are validity, fairness,
applicability, and cost. Conventional application forms and references appear to
have little validity, at least as currently used. Biodata are more valid, but there
is a potential risk of unfair discrimination if items are not carefully checked.
The interview can have acceptable validity, but only when used in a structured
format. Ability tests are more valid than personality tests. Assessment centres
generally have high validity, but their cost generally limits their applicability.
Review Questions
True/False Statements
Each statement requires a single response – ‘True’ or ‘False’.
5.1 Intensive selection methods are more justified for the recruitment of core
workers, than they are for the recruitment of peripheral workers.
5.2 It is likely that self-selection will become less popular in future as employers
place more emphasis on selecting for attitudinal qualities.
5.3 The selection paradigm is most applicable when a relatively large number of
applicants is being recruited on a regular basis.
5.4 The selection matrix matches required competencies with potential selection
tools.
5.5 The latest statistical techniques allow organisations to carry out validation
studies of their selection procedures even though only a few small number of
people have been recruited.
5.6 Validation procedures allow the recruiter to work out before selection begins
which selection tools will work.
5.8 Inter-rater reliability is the extent to which a recruiter agrees with herself when
assessing a set of candidates on two separate occasions.
5.9 A reliability coefficient of r = .50 for a particular selection device would gener-
ally be regarded as good.
5.10 A validity coefficient of r = .50, obtained for a particular selection device, would
generally be regarded as good.
5.12 Hunter and Hunter (1984) concluded from their meta analysis of selection tools
that most tests are situation-specific.
5.13 Meta analysis sets out to prove that selection devices which work in one organ-
isation will work in most other organisations, regardless of the circumstances.
5.14 When numbers being recruited are small estimates of the ‘true’ validity, as
provided by meta analysis, often constitute the best information available to
the recruiter as to which selection devices to use.
5.15 An application form can be used either as a screening device or to guide the
interview, but not both.
5.16 If pre-screening is badly carried out, then the selection process may not succeed
even when the selection devices used in the later stages of selection are highly
valid.
5.17 According to the available evidence, most organisations only use references as
a final check on employability.
5.20 The stress interview is increasing in popularity as jobs become more pressurised.
5.22 The situational interview typically has higher development costs then the PBDI.
5.24 According to Arvey (1979) research has shown that interviews discriminate
against minority groups.
5.25 The PBDI uses the critical incident method to get interviewers to give examples
of effective and ineffective performance.
5.26 The modern recruiter can operate successfully without any knowledge of psy-
chometric tests.
5.27 Only a small minority of organisations in the UK use psychometric tests of ability
as part of their selection.
5.28 Verbal ability, numerical ability, and spatial ability are independent aspects of a
person’s general cognitive ability.
5.29 The two main categories of psychometric tests are ability tests and personality
tests.
5.30 Generally speaking, tests of specific abilities have not proven to be superior in
terms of validity to tests of general cognitive ability.
5.35 Because they never include interviews, assessment centres avoid many of the
biases inherent in interviews.
5.2 Under what circumstances are references most likely to be useful in selection?
5.3 Explain what is meant by reliability and validity and indicate why these concepts
are important in the field of selection.
5.4 According to Muchinsky (1986), what are the main factors which determine the
usefulness of selection devices?
Your task is to write a preliminary report based on the contents of the letter
below.
Dear Colleague
Congratulations on your new appointment and good luck with your first assignment.
I have been asked to brief you on how our recruitment operation for MBAs runs. Your
comments and suggestions would be most welcome. First, let me bore you with some
statistics from last year’s intake.
The recruitment figures for last year were as follows.
Male Female
Number applying 1200 800
Number offered a preliminary interview 150 50
Number invited to final interview 65 35
Number offered a job 25 25
Our feeling last year was that we had plenty of applicants for the available vacancies
and we do not need to take any additional steps this year to encourage more applicants.
What do you think?
Candidates are selected for interview based on the information contained in the
application form. We have tried various interview formats over the years, including
panel interviews, one-to-one interviews, sequential interviews, and so on. We usually
run preliminary screening interviews, followed by a final interview and job offer. We
have never had any shortage of volunteers to do the interviewing, quite the opposite.
Sometimes it is difficult to know who to choose, but I guess it does not matter much as
long as we stick to experienced people.
The bank has always put a lot of emphasis on training and, because of this, all
interviewers are trained for the task. Part of the training involves giving interviewers a
list of the key qualities needed to do the job. These were prepared by the HR Director
herself, and they are pretty comprehensive. They include all the obvious things like
enthusiasm, energy, self-starter, keen to work for the bank, good knowledge of how we
are doing compared to the competition, etc. On the whole the HRM Director’s list seems
to fit the bill pretty well, although there are a few things on it which are quite hard to
spot at interview. Consequently, we took on one or two people last year only to discover
that they had pulled the wool over our eyes by claiming to possess certain abilities they
did not have. Fortunately it took us no time at all to bring them up to scratch on these
by sending them on a couple of training courses.
One of last year’s MBA intake had been told by some professor who claims to be
an expert on interviewing – he has probably never had a real job in his life – that
we ought to use a structured interview. Despite my reservations about some of these
so-called experts, I have decided to try structured interviews for next year, unless you
have any objections. I have structured the interview as follows. Each interviewer on the
panel will always ask questions in the same order and will have the same amount of
time allocated to ask questions. Interviews will not be allowed to run on beyond the set
time. Interviewers will not be permitted to change the seating arrangements between
interviews so that this is standardised for all candidates. All candidates will be allocated
the same amount of time to ask questions. Does all of this sound OK or am I imposing
too much structure on the interview? Another interesting idea the MBA graduate had
was to get applicants to say how they would handle difficult situations. I thought we
should give this a try too, so I have asked interviewers to think up some interesting
scenarios to put to candidates.
I sometimes worry that interviews might not actually be as good at identifying the best
candidates as everybody seems to think. Maybe we would try to check our interviews
out in some way to make sure they are working OK. One idea might be to get this
professor who claims to be an expert to give our process the once over. Would that be
enough, or do you think we would need to do anything else to make sure the interview
is working?
I guess, from the information I have given you, that you will be able to tell how well
our selection is working. I know that top management is keen to know the answer to
this question and this will no doubt be a key part of your report. Is there any other
information you need from me to help you come to a conclusion on this one?
I look forward to your report assessing what we are doing at the moment and making
suggestions, if any, for improvement.
Yours sincerely
A K N Owall
References
Arvey, R.D. (1979). ‘Unfair discrimination in the employment interview: Legal and
psychological aspects’, Psychological Bulletin, 86, 736–65.
Barrick, M.R. and Mount, M.K. (1991). ‘The big five personality dimensions and job
performance: A field study’, Personnel Psychology, 44, 1–26.
Beason, G. and Belt, J.A. (1976). ‘Verifying applicants’ backgrounds’, Personnel Journal,
55, 345–8.
Hunter, J.E. and Hunter, R.F. (1984). ‘Validity and utility of alternative predictors of job
performance’, Psychological Bulletin, 96, 72–98.
Janz, T. (1982). ‘Initial comparisons of patterned behaviour description interviews versus
unstructured interviews’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 50, 275–83.
Keenan, A. (1995). ‘Graduate recruitment in Britain: A survey of selection methods used
by organizations’, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 16, 301–17.
Latham, G.P., Saari, L.M., Russell, E.P. and Campion, M.A. (1980). ‘The situational
interview’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, 422–7.
Muchinsky, P. (1986). ‘Personnel selection decisions’, International Review of Industrial and
Organizational Psychology, eds. Cooper, C.L. and Robertson, I.T., New York: Wiley.
Robertson, I.T. and Makin, P.J. (1986). ‘Management selection in Britain: A survey and
critique’, Journal of Occupational Psychology, 59, 45–57.
Robertson, I.T. and Smith, M. (1989). ‘Personnel selection methods’, Advances in Selection
and Assessment, eds. Smith, M. and Robertson, I.T., New York: Wiley.
Schmidt, T.L. and Hunter, J.E. (1977). ‘Development of a general solution to the problem
of validity generalization’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 62, 643–61.
Shackleton, V. and Newell, S. (1991). ‘Management selection: A comparative survey of
methods used in top British and French companies’, Journal of Occupational Psychology,
61, 275–90.
Schmidt, N., Gooding, R.Z., Noe, R.D. and Kirsch, M. (1984). ‘Meta analysis of validity
studies published between 1964 and 1982 and the investigation of study characteristics’,
Personnel Psychology, 37, 407–22.
Contents
6.1 Determinants of Performance 6/2
6.1.1 Individual Ability and Motivation 6/2
6.1.2 Feedback 6/2
6.1.3 Resource Provision 6/3
6.2 The Performance Appraisal Process 6/3
6.2.1 Purposes and Desired Outcomes of Appraisal Systems 6/5
6.2.2 What is Being Measured? 6/6
6.3 Recording Appraisal Information 6/9
6.3.1 Checklists 6/9
6.3.2 Rating Scales 6/10
6.3.3 Behaviourally Anchored Scales and Behavioural Observation Scales 6/11
6.4 Carrying Out Appraisals 6/12
6.4.1 Who Carries Out the Appraisal? 6/12
6.4.2 The Appraisal Interview 6/14
6.5 Performance Appraisal in Practice 6/15
6.5.1 Limitations of Performance Appraisal 6/15
6.5.2 Maximising the Effectiveness of Appraisal 6/16
6.6 Performance Management 6/16
6.6.1 Performance Appraisal and Performance Management 6/16
6.6.2 Characteristics of Performance Management Systems 6/17
6.6.3 Performance Management as an Integrated System 6/18
6.7 Summary 6/18
Review Questions 6/19
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
• describe the main characteristics of performance appraisal systems.
• summarise the purposes and desired outcomes of appraisal systems.
• distinguish between results-oriented and process-oriented performance
appraisal.
• discuss the various methods of recording appraisal information.
6.1.2 Feedback
Even if a person possesses both the required core and learned competencies and
the motivation to do a good job, this will not inevitably lead to high performance.
In addition, the individual needs feedback from the organisation in order to have
a clear picture both of what the organisation requires and of how well he or she is
perceived to be meeting these requirements. Thus, for example, if someone puts
enormous energy and effort into an aspect of the job which is not particularly
important from the organisation’s perspective, while neglecting something which
is critically important, then he will clearly not be performing well. Likewise, to
be able to improve one’s performance, one first needs to know which aspects are
not coming up to expectation and need to be improved. Clearly, to be effective,
feedback needs to be both frequent and comprehensive. Also, it should not be
limited to individual job role requirements as defined by job analysis. This is
because, if job analysis is narrowly focused within the confines of a particular
job role, it may not always provide a comprehensive picture of performance
requirements on its own. For example, there may be requirements which are
organisation-wide rather than being restricted to a particular role. An illustration
here might be the adoption of certain values which are consistent with a desired
organisational culture. At the very least, the individual would need to be
aware of what these values were and the importance attached to them by the
organisation before he could meet this particular requirement.
long been recognised, and at least in the UK and the USA, the majority of large
organisations have adopted such systems. For example, in data collected from
306 organisations in the UK, Long (1986) found that 82 per cent of companies
used formal appraisal systems.
There are several defining characteristics of performance appraisal systems,
some of which are listed below:
• First, they are formal systems with a set of rules and guidelines which must
be followed in their operation. For example, the time between appraisals
will usually be laid down. It might take place every six months, at yearly
intervals, or occasionally even less frequently. The position of the person
who is to carry out the appraisal will also be specified. Up until recently,
this was usually the appraisee’s immediate superior, but as we shall see
later, increasingly others are being brought into the process. What is to be
appraised is also determined in advance.
• Another defining feature of many appraisal systems is the requirement to
provide a comprehensive assessment of all relevant aspects of performance.
The information collected is recorded in some form, either as a written
report, or in the form of ratings of individual aspects of performance.
• The purposes of the appraisal system and consequently the outcomes to be
expected from it are usually made explicit to both the appraiser and the
appraisee. Thus for example, if pay rises are to be based on appraisal data,
then this should be known up front to all concerned. Similarly, if one of the
purposes of an appraisal system is to establish training and development
needs, then the appraisee should be aware that this is the case.
• The basis of the typical performance appraisal system is a review of past
performance, usually covering the period since the previous appraisal. Often
there will be a direct comparison with the results from the previous year’s
appraisal.
• In most cases, there will be feedback to the appraisee on how he or she
has been assessed. This is most often done in the context of an appraisal
interview. The interview will typically include a discussion not only of past
performance, but also of what needs to be done to improve performance in
the future.
While the above list should give the reader an idea of what is meant by
an appraisal system, it should be emphasised that appraisal systems can differ
markedly from one organisation to another. To put it another way, an organ-
isation has a number of options in terms of the design and use of appraisal
systems. Some of these are relatively unimportant, while others are very signifi-
cant in terms of the usefulness of the system from the point of view of both the
individual and the organisation. We shall now look in more detail at some of
the more important ways in which appraisal systems can differ and how these
differences might affect how appraisal is used as an HRM tool.
Five major features of appraisal systems are discussed below. These are:
A Word of Caution
We shall examine the limitations of appraisal systems in some detail later in the
chapter. In the meantime, two issues arising from what has just been discussed
deserve a mention here.
First, it is important to contrast the use of appraisal for training and develop-
ment purposes on the one hand with its use for reward allocation and promotion
potential on the other. In the case of the former, there is, at least in theory, the
opportunity for all appraisees to benefit from the appraisal. This is quite differ-
ent from the situation when appraisal is used to allocate rewards, since there
will inevitably be winners and losers as a result of the process. In this case, the
appraiser’s role is one of judge, whereas when appraisal is used for training
and development, the appraiser’s role can be likened much more to that of a
helper. Clearly, the reaction of appraisees to the whole process, and indeed the
extent to which they will be willing to co-operate wholeheartedly with it, is
going to be very different depending on whether the main focus is on training
and development or on reward allocation. This has led some commentators to
suggest that these two functions must somehow be kept separate if appraisal
is to be effective. Some have argued that appraisal should not be used at all
in the process of salary determination, while others have suggested appraisal
information can be used for both purposes, provided that they are some how
differentiated from each other. One possible way to do this might be to set
up separate arrangements to deal with each. It has to be said, however, that
advocates of the latter approach are often less than crystal clear about exactly
how this can best be done.
The second issue relates to the use of appraisal for evaluating promotability.
The problem is the fact that there are some circumstances where the usefulness
of appraisal data for the identification of suitability for promotion can be limited.
This is particularly the case where the abilities required for the promoted position
are very different from those needed for the job the appraisee is currently doing.
Since appraisal essentially reviews performance in the individual’s current job,
this tells us little about performance potential in the promoted position, since in
this case different abilities are needed for effective performance. An increasingly
popular way of dealing with this problem has been to use a variant of the
assessment centre (AC) technique, described in Module 5 in connection with
selection, to measure potential for promotion. These modified ACs are usually
called development centres to distinguish them from selection-type assessment
centres and to highlight the fact that they are also used to assess development
needs as well as promotion potential. Long (1986) found that, while 71 per cent
of organisations were using performance appraisal to assess future potential,
only about 20 per cent of companies were making use of development centres
for this purpose.
What then were the problems of MBO in practice? Often joint goal setting
turned out to be impracticable, turning out to be an unsatisfactory compromise
between the appraisee’s efforts to establish easy objectives and senior manage-
ment’s desire for tough objectives to be set, with the appraiser caught in the
middle. The implicit reward-punishment psychology in the technique was found
to be potentially destructive of the very trust that is needed for the system to
work. Also, and perhaps most importantly, the emphasis on a few, quantifiable,
end result type objectives as the be all and end all of appraisal led to the neglect
of process-oriented aspects of performance.
As always, it is important not to throw out the baby with the bath water, and
the relative demise of MBO should not lead us abandon the notion of setting
objectives per se, particularly as we saw earlier, there is good psychological
evidence that goal setting can be a powerful motivational tool. Rather, we
should not limit goals to ‘hard’, quantifiable, end results such as productivity
but should also include ‘soft’ process measures of performance in tasks which,
while not end results in themselves, may nevertheless contribute towards the
attainment of these. In this way, it is possible to adhere to a results-oriented
approach while focusing on process variables. No doubt this is frequently the
case and nowadays this probably partly explains the fact that only about a third
of those in Long’s sample who were using results-oriented appraisal reported
using MBO. Of course it is also possible that some of these organisations were
evaluating previous results but not actually setting specific targets for the future.
6.3.1 Checklists
One approach to rating is to use checklists derived from job analysis or some
similar procedure. A checklist consists of a comprehensive list of behaviours or
competencies which are relevant for the job in question and the appraiser has
to scan the list and select those which apply to the person being appraised.
A problem with this approach is the fact that some behaviours may be more
crucial for effective job performance than others, so that a mere list of the
behaviours selected is likely to have limited value. Weighted checklists attempt
to get around this problem by assigning values to each item to reflect its relative
favourability. The values are typically arrived at by asking managers and/or job
holders to rate items for importance.
TIMEKEEPING
POOR QUITE EXCELLENT
GOOD
TIMEKEEPING
WELL AVERAGE WELL
BELOW ABOVE
AVERAGE AVERAGE
1 2 3 4 5
TIMEKEEPING
LOW HIGH
It is known that rating scales are prone to a number of rating errors on the
part of appraisers. These include:
• Leniency is used to describe the situation where appraisers are reluctant
to use the negative end of scales and as a consequence rate appraisees too
positively. This behaviour is quite understandable given the fact that the
appraisee is usually allowed access to the ratings.
• Central tendency is another source of bias. In this case appraisers avoid
both extremes of the scales preferring instead to endorse less controversial
choices around the midpoint.
• The halo effect is another common bias. The notion here is that, if a
person is perceived as having an exceptionally favourable quality, their
other qualities are evaluated more highly than they otherwise would be. In
other words, the exceptional attribute casts a halo over other attributes. The
reverse effect occurs with negative attributes. In this way, appraisees tend
to be labelled in a global way as all good or bad, rather than being seen as
the more complex combination of strong, weak and intermediate qualities
which more accurately reflect reality in most cases.
FAVOURABLE
6
Takes a genuine interest in
students and their problems
Builds student self-esteem by
praising good performance
4
Is occasionally unavailable
to students for consultation
2
Shows bias against certain
students
UNFAVOURABLE
To date, we simply do not have enough evidence to say with certainty which
of these two methods works best, although both seem to be an improvement on
earlier methods.
360-Degree Appraisal
If the main aim of appraisal is to provide the maximum amount of feedback,
information should be collected from as many sources as possible for transmis-
sion to the appraisee. This brings us to a relatively recent innovation in the field
known as 360-degree appraisal. Under this system the appraisee receives feed-
back from all directions, so to speak. Thus superiors, peers, subordinates, and
internal and external customers will all be part of the process. There are several
potential advantages of this approach. First, since everyone who is involved
with the job holder gets the opportunity to provide feedback, a complete picture
of all relevant aspects of performance can be obtained. Assuming that there is
agreement from the different sources about key aspects of performance, manage-
ment can have more confidence in the judgements made than if they had come
from a single source. Likewise, the existence of agreement among appraisers
makes it more likely that the appraisee will accept the feedback as accurate,
since he or she cannot readily dismiss any critical aspects as being due to bias
or misperception on the part of a particular individual.
There are, however, potential difficulties in setting up and operating 360-
degree appraisal. With the requirement for several people to provide infor-
mation on each person being appraised, the procedure can easily end up being
overly cumbersome and time-consuming. Given the sensitive nature of appraisal
information, it is clearly crucial that the anonymity of those who are in a non-
supervisory relationship with the appraisee be preserved. Otherwise, how, for
example could a subordinate be expected to give authentic feedback to his or her
boss? Given this last point, it is also very important that appraisees are trained
to concentrate on constructive, rather than destructive, feedback. Finally, 360-
degree appraisal can only really be used for certain purposes. Thus, while it is an
excellent vehicle for providing comprehensive performance feedback, it cannot
by itself be used to set performance targets. These can really only be determined
by negotiation in an interview. This clearly involves much more than the written
feedback which usually constitutes the raw data in 360-degree appraisal systems.
Given this last comment, this is an appropriate point at which to turn our
attention to the appraisal interview.
the central role of the interview in the whole appraisal process, that interviewers
are highly trained to carry out this most difficult and demanding task.
6.7 Summary
Systematic performance appraisal can have a number of functions including
reviewing past performance, identifying training needs, setting performance
Review Questions
True/False Statements
Each statement requires a single response – ‘True’ or ‘False’.
6.1 Feedback to the individual about organisational requirements can help the
person to improve his performance.
6.2 A job will always be carried out to the highest standard provided the organisa-
tion gives the individual adequate human and physical resources.
6.3 Data collected in the UK by Long (1986) showed that a minority of companies
used performance appraisal systems.
6.5 Locke’s research indicates that goal setting always increases performance.
6.7 The easiest way to resolve the judge-helper dilemma in appraisal is to keep
considerations of pay separate from the issue of promotability.
6.8 Appraisers have sometimes been described as fulfilling the role of helper
because they help deserving appraisees to get big pay rises.
6.9 Performance appraisal systems have made use of both end results and process
measures of performance.
6.11 Rogers and Hunter (1991) found that the support of top management had little
impact on the success of MBO programmes.
6.12 One of the main features of MBO is the provision of feedback to appraisees.
6.13 One of the advantages of goal setting is the way in which it focuses the person’s
attention on what the organisation wants.
6.14 One of the advantages of using checklists to rate appraisees is the fact that
they allow the appraiser to estimate the extent to which a person exhibits the
characteristics being assessed.
6.15 The maximum number of points on a rating scale never exceeds six.
6.17 The BOS method of rating appraisees is more time-consuming to set up than
BARS.
6.18 Research indicates that behaviourally anchored rating scales work better than
behaviour observation scales.
6.19 BOS scales attempt to reduce rating biases by asking appraisers to report on
behaviours they have actually observed in appraisees.
6.20 Because some of the data come from subordinates, management are unlikely to
have as much confidence in the information derived from 360-degree appraisal,
compared with systems where only the immediate superior does the appraising.
6.23 Performance appraisal works best when integrated into a performance man-
agement system.
6.24 Training for appraisers should focus entirely on interaction skills to enhance
their interviewing capability.
6.25 Because the domain of performance management is only loosely defined, per-
formance management systems can vary considerably from one organisation to
another.
6.30 Bevan and Thompson (1992) found that most organisations in their survey had
well integrated performance management systems.
6.2 Describe the main methods used to record information in appraisal systems and
discuss the strengths and limitations of each of them.
Your task is two fold. First, you are asked to write a report evaluating each
system. Second, you have to make preliminary recommendations, based on your
analysis of the existing systems, for a new organisation-wide approach.
schedule they gave us is very comprehensive and allows us to tackle a large number
of issues in the one session, including pay, promotion, and training and development
needs. Everyone is set specific, quantifiable, performance targets which they have
to meet over the next twelve months.
All of this is incorporated in what the consultants call performance management.
This allows us to be systematic in following up the appraisal in various ways. The
main elements of our performance management system are:
References
Bevan, S. and Thompson, M. (1992). ‘An overview of policy and practice’, Person-
nel Management in the UK: An Analysis of the Issues, London: Institute of Personnel
Management.
Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. (1990). A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Long, P. (1986). Performance Appraisal Revisited, London: The Institute of Personnel
Management.
Rogers, R. and Hunter, J.E. (1991). ‘Impact of management by objectives on organiza-
tional productivity’, Journal of Applied Psychology Monograph, 76, 322–36.
Rowe, K.H. (1964). ‘An appraisal of appraisals’, Journal of Management Studies, 1, 1–25.
Contents
7.1 Training, Development and Strategic HRM 7/2
7.2 Determining Training Needs and Priorities 7/3
7.2.1 Levels of Analysis 7/3
7.2.2 Methods of Collecting Information on Training Needs 7/5
7.2.3 Determining Training Priorities 7/5
7.3 Design of Training Programmes 7/6
7.3.1 Determining Training Content 7/7
7.3.2 The Training Process 7/8
7.4 Evaluation of Training Effectiveness 7/12
7.4.1 Evaluation Criteria 7/13
7.4.2 Experimental Designs 7/16
7.5 The Relationship between Training and Development 7/19
7.6 Methods of Employee Development 7/20
7.6.1 Development Centres 7/20
7.6.2 Self-development 7/21
7.6.3 The Learning Contract 7/21
7.6.4 Planned Work Experience 7/21
7.6.5 Action Learning 7/22
7.6.6 Coaching and Mentoring 7/22
7.7 Development for Employability 7/23
7.8 Summary 7/23
Review Questions 7/24
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
• understand the role of training and development in implementing HRM
strategies.
• understand the importance of training needs analysis.
• describe how training needs analysis can be carried out.
• explain how designers of training courses determine training content.
• explain how learning principles are relevant to the design of training
courses.
• describe the different criteria which can be used to evaluate training.
Quite apart from any strategic level issues, training and development should
be fundamental activities at the operational level in all organisations, even in
those which have never even heard of strategic HRM. Going back to the notion
of core abilities, skills, and motivational abilities, we have seen that the main
way in which the organisation can ensure that individuals had the necessary
core abilities is by means of selection. While some selection for skills might take
place in certain circumstances, in most organisations there are likely to be many
crucially important skills which need to be developed by means of appropriate
training programmes. This will be both in the context of specific circumscribed
tasks and in the broader context of the development of individuals.
We have already seen, in the context of performance management, the impor-
tance of taking a systematic and integrated approach to HRM activities. How-
ever, we also saw in that same context that, all too often, the approach taken by
organisations seems to be piecemeal and fragmented. This need for a systematic
approach applies equally to training, and again one suspects that the reality as
practised in a number of organisations does not quite match up to this ideal.
What, then, would a systematic approach to training in an organisation look
like?
Three main areas of training activity can be identified, each of which has to
be tackled in a planned and organised way. All three are inter-related, and an
integrated approach demands that they are set up and run in such a way as
to complement and reinforce each other. The three areas are: determination of
training needs and priorities; design and delivery of training programmes; and
evaluation of training effectiveness. Let us now consider each of these in turn.
specialist who carries out the needs analysis is to identify these critical com-
petencies so that they can be given priority. Another factor to be taken into
consideration is the size of the gap between the desired level of performance
and the level which actually exists. The greater the disparity between the two,
the higher priority should be allocated to training in the area in question.
Another important consideration is whether or not an effective training pro-
gramme exists or can be developed for a particular set of competencies at a
reasonable cost. The point here is that the mere fact that something is critically
important, and that a large gap exists between what is present and what is
desired, in no way guarantees that it will be possible to produce the desired
changes by means of training. Clearly, if this cannot be done, it would be better
to divert precious training resources to where they can have more impact, even
if the competencies in question are less critical. The reader will by now be
aware that core characteristics are not modifiable by training or other means.
But, these apart, some learned behaviours may be so well established that it is
unrealistic to expect them to change as a result of a short training experience.
For example, we have mentioned the importance of attitudes and values many
times already in this text. But some attitudes may be so well ingrained over
such a long period as to be virtually impossible to change. Similarly, many
interpersonal behaviours (often confusingly called skills in the HRM literature)
have been learned so early in life and reinforced over so many years that they
have become a fundamental aspect of the person which would be unaffected by
even the most sophisticated of training interventions.
How then can one decide whether it is possible to influence a particular set
of behaviours or attitudes by means of training interventions? One question
to be asked here is whether a training course or programme can be found,
either in-house or commercially, which looks as if it might fit the bill. Given
the proliferation of external training consultants in the marketplace, at least in
the UK and the USA, the answer to this question is very likely to be yes. Even
a cursory glance at the trade press of the training world reveals a plethora
of training courses on offer covering just about everything under the sun.
However, the fact that someone is prepared to offer a training course on some
topic or other is no guarantee that it will actually have the claimed effect on
behaviour and performance, no matter how appealing it may be on an intuitive
basis. Unless the training provider, whether internal or external, can provide
convincing evidence as to the efficacy of the programme, its adoption and use
will be essentially an act of faith on the part of whoever is responsible for its
authorisation. We shall return to this crucial issue of the evaluation of training
effectiveness later in this module.
to determine the training process. The training process is concerned with how
the previously defined learning content can best be delivered.
task should also be broken down further if the cost of failure is high. For any
given task element, the joint effect of these two factors should be considered,
since one can offset the other. For example, a high probability of failure might
be tolerated if the cost of failure is very low and vice versa.
While the hierarchical task analysis approach is a valuable tool for establishing
the content of training, it is clear that it is not applicable to all types of job.
In particular, it is most suited to work roles where the nature of the work and
the tasks to be done are clearly defined and unambiguous. A classic case where
this is not the case and where it is difficult to envisage how HTA could be
usefully applied, is managerial work. We have already provided two examples
of specific aspects of managerial activities in the form of interviewing skills and
the need to be assertive and have hinted that the problem of defining training
content in these cases is not entirely straightforward. However, leaving aside
these two specific examples, what about managerial work more generally? If
a trainer were charged with the task of preparing individuals to carry out a
managerial job, the first step in establishing the appropriate content for such a
training programme might be to ask the deceptively simple question – ‘What
do managers do?’ However, while the trainer might be forgiven for expecting
a straightforward answer to this question, the research which has been carried
out on this problem of specifying what a manager actually does has shown that
this is not the case. Stewart (1976) described a number of frequent managerial
activities such as liaison, maintenance of work processes, innovation, and setting
job boundaries. Mintzberg (1973) proposed ten distinct managerial roles in three
categories. These categories are decision making, interpersonal and information
processing. While the ideas of these writers and others working in the same
area are useful, the problem from a training perspective is, once again, the broad
nature of the categories, making them of limited value for identifying detailed
training content. Furthermore, a number of writers have pointed out that, to
a significant extent, managers themselves define the boundaries of their jobs
(Hales, 1986). Finally, the reality of much everyday management may be quite
different from what is suggested by some of these idealised models which depict
managerial work as a series of logical administrative and organising processes.
Real life management is much more unpredictable, complex, and varied than
these models seem to imply.
• There is a good deal of evidence that learning and performance are enhanced
if the person being trained is rewarded in some way whenever the task to
be learned, or some part of it, is performed correctly. Such rewards can
take a variety of forms, such as praise from the trainer, mutual support and
reinforcement from other trainees, and so on.
• One of the reasons why rewards aid learning is the fact that they effectively
provide the learner with feedback as to what is the correct or desired
behaviour. There is no doubt that feedback is critically important for many
types of learning. Of course, to be of maximum benefit to the learner,
feedback can and should involve more than simply the identification of
correct responses. In particular, feedback should be used to make it clear to
the individual precisely where and why he is going wrong in his attempts
to master the task in question.
• Some of the early research on the role of rewards in learning seemed
to imply that human learning was a mechanistic process which occurred
more or less automatically when rewards were provided. The corollary
of this was that no learning could take place in the absence of rewards.
Bandura (1977) has strongly criticised this view of human learning and
has shown that a great deal of human learning occurs through imitating
the behaviour of others without any apparent reward. Bandura’s research
and ideas have given rise to a very popular method of training called
behaviour-modelling training (BMT). Following on from Bandura’s work,
the underlying assumption of BMT is that people learn from observing the
behaviour of another person, often another trainee, who performs the task
in question well. While Bandura does not regard rewards as necessary for
learning to take place, he nevertheless concedes that successful modelling
will only occur if there is some motivation to strengthen the modelled
behaviour. To put it another way, the trainee needs to have some reason to
model his behaviour on another person.
• We have already discussed the value of setting goals and objectives in the
module on performance appraisal. Objective setting can also be applied in
most training contexts as a means of motivating individuals, including BMT.
As has already been pointed out in connection with performance appraisal,
for maximum effect, goals should be difficult enough to challenge the
individual, but not so hard as to be perceived as unattainable.
• Passive learning, such as listening to lectures given by trainers or reading
training material, can be appropriate in some training contexts. However,
most of the learning principles we have discussed so far, such as rewarding
of desired responses, modelling behaviour observed in others, providing
feedback on performance, and so on, treat learning as essentially an active
and dynamic process where the learner is involved in carrying out various
tasks. From this perspective, the emphasis is on learning by doing with
active participation by delegates being seen as the key to effective learning.
The above list is meant to be selective and in no way covers all of the
principles of learning uncovered by researchers over the years. It does, however,
include the ones which have most frequently been applied in the actual design
and execution of training programmes in organisations.
Types of Learning
It is clear from everyday observation that human beings engage in a wide
variety of different kinds of learning task, both in their everyday environment
and in the workplace. Learning to drive a car, for example, is a very different
task from learning the principles of quantum mechanics, which in turn is very
different from learning how to take account of other people’s point of view in a
team leadership situation. While general learning principles will to some extent
apply across these diverse situations, it is also the case that the ideal method
for facilitating learning acquisition will differ greatly depending on the type of
learning involved.
One useful classification of learning is the CRAMP taxonomy (ITRU, 1976).
This proposes five different types of learning as follows.
• Comprehension. This involves understanding, rather than mere memo-
rising. Thus, the learner comes to understand how and why something
functions the way it does. For example, a forecourt attendant could be
taught, as part of his training, not to put unleaded petrol in cars over a
certain age. This would only be classified as comprehension if the person,
at the end of the training, also understood why unleaded petrol should not
be added to older cars.
• Reflex learning. This type of learning largely involves co-ordination between
perceptual and motor activity. Two major functions of the human brain are
the analysis of information from the senses (perception) and the control of
muscular movements of the body (motor activity). Reflex learning largely
involves making connections between perception and motor activity to allow
the execution of complex tasks. Many of the activities which the lay person
would classify as skills come about through reflex learning. For example,
the ball control of the skilled footballer is a result of a long period of reflex
learning in which a high level of eye, foot, and body co-ordination is even-
tually attained. Many craft jobs, such as those of painter, joiner, or welder,
include skills which have been developed through reflex learning.
• Attitude development. We have seen numerous examples throughout this
text, but particularly in the various discussions of strategic HRM, of the
importance of attitudes and the need to produce attitude change in employ-
ees. Examples of strategically desirable outcomes where an important com-
ponent of the change process might involve training to modify attitudes
include attempts to increase commitment, TQM programmes, and customer
focus initiatives.
• Memory training. An example of memory training could be the task of
remembering not to put unleaded petrol into cars of a certain age, described
above in the section on comprehension. If the individual in question was
trained to remember what had to be done, but was given no insight into
why the task had to be carried out in that particular way (comprehension),
this would constitute memory training. Memory training can be regarded
as surface knowledge, rather than deep understanding, and it can often be
accomplished by a process of rote learning. For example, a Distance Learn-
ing MBA student could memorise large sections of this text using a process
of rote learning, without really grasping the underlying concepts. However,
it is unlikely that the student in question would pass the examination, since
the examination questions are designed to test comprehension, in addition
to memory.
• Procedural learning. This is similar to memory training insofar as it involves
recall without deep understanding. In this case, however, it is a set of
procedural rules which have to be memorised. For example, a bank teller
needs to know the procedure which must be gone through if, at the end of
a day’s trading, the amount of cash left in her till is inconsistent with the
amount recorded as having been paid out to customers. To take another
example, an examination invigilator has to know the procedures for dealing
with certain eventualities, such as students turning up late or wishing to
leave early. In neither of these cases is it strictly necessary for the person
to know why the procedures are set up in the way they are (although, of
course, it may be advantageous for them to do so).
The optimal training method will depend to an extent on the nature of the
learning involved in the particular task or set of tasks to be learned. For example,
reflex learning may require repeated practice of the task or components of it,
followed by feedback on performance. Attitudinal learning, on the other hand,
might be carried out by first conducting a questionnaire survey of existing
attitudes in the organisation and following this up by a discussion and analysis
of the findings in a series of small groups.
Finally, the reader should note that, where individuals are engaged in a
comprehensive training programme, several different types of learning may be
required at different stages of the programme. For example, consider a training
programme for apprentice electricians. An electrician needs an understanding
of the nature of electricity as a source of heat and power. She also needs craft
skills learned in a reflex manner. An appropriate attitude towards safety issues
is also clearly important, as is a knowledge of various procedural rules, such as
how often safety inspections on plugs and appliances have to be carried out.
Types of Learner
When designing a training programme, it is important to take into account not
just the type of learning involved but also the type of person who will be the
recipient of the training. For example, an approach which works well for young
workers may not always work so well with older members of the workforce. A
good illustration of this would be in the area of computer skills, where many
young people are already computer literate when they first enter work and might
be expected to be easily trained in this area. Many older people, on the other
hand, do not have this basic familiarity with computers, and might well find the
task of learning these skills quite daunting. Consequently, considerable support
might need to be built into such programmes for older workers if they are to
be trained successfully. Individuals with less formal education, such as blue
collar employees, are likely to respond more favourably to practically oriented
sessions than to formal lecture presentations. Conversely managers, with their
greater exposure to formal education might be expected to be quite comfortable
with a lecture format.
Individuals also have different learning styles and, where feasible, this should
be taken into account when designing programmes. Building on the work of
Kolb who suggested that there are four stages in the learning cycle, Honey
and Mumford (1989) found that individuals differed in their preferences for the
various learning styles which characterised each stage. The four learning styles
associated with stages in the learning cycle are as follows.
• Activists are enthusiasts about learning by doing. Because of their pref-
erence for trying things out they respond well to methods which involve
carrying out either the actual tasks which are to be learned or simulations
of them.
• Reflectors prefer to learn by observing, listening and analysing rather than
by doing. They would rather observe and analyse tasks than actually carry
them out.
• Theorists are good at constructing theories and concepts based on analysis
and evaluation of information.
• Pragmatists are characterised by their desire to apply what they have
learned to real world situations. They do not respond well to concepts
and theories which have little direct practical application.
its purpose. No matter how intuitively appealing a programme may be, nor
how well grounded in theory and best practice, it is still necessary to evaluate it
systematically to be sure that it is effective and is actually delivering the goods.
The need for systematic evaluation is really driven home when one considers
the very large sums of money many organisations spend on training. At the end
of the day, such spending can only be justified as an investment provided the
training can actually be shown, through a process of systematic evaluation, to
have produced the desired results.
Despite its crucial importance, evaluation remains one of the most problematic
areas in the field of training. The first and most fundamental problem which
arises here is the question of which evaluation criteria should be used to evaluate
any particular training programme. To put it another way, what measurable
outcomes of training can be used to evaluate its efficacy? A second, and equally
important problem concerns the choice of the most appropriate experimental
design to adopt to ensure that the results of the evaluation provide a fair and
valid assessment of what the training has achieved.
Table 7.1 summarises the advantages and limitations of the four Kirkpatrick
criteria. Although behavioural and results criteria are in some ways more robust
than learning and trainee reactions, not least because of their ability to provide
information about external validity, all four have their place in evaluation.
Having said this, the greater focus on external validity of behavioural and
results criteria could lead one to expect that these would be frequently used in
training evaluations. However, judging from a survey of the training evaluation
procedures adopted by organisations in the US, this is far from being the case.
Campbell (1971) found that the assessment of trainee reactions and, to a lesser
extent, learning were very popular. However, the use of behavioural and results
criteria were much less so. It seems that, when it comes to training evaluation,
most organisations opt for the least expensive and less time-consuming options,
rather than the more robust ones.
Kirkpatrick’s model has been around for quite a long time now, and it is
important to ask how well it has stood the test of time. Alliger and Janack (1989),
reviewing developments in the intervening period since the model was first
proposed, concluded that trainers using the model have made three assumptions
which do not necessarily hold.
1 First, they have assumed that the four criteria are arranged in such a
way that the value of the information obtained increases as we move from
reactions through to results. While considerations of external validity would
imply that this would usually be the case, they point out that this is not
necessarily always true. For example, if a programme is only concerned
with attitude change – such as a course designed to improve morale – then
trainee reactions could provide all the information that is needed to evaluate
the programme.
2 Second, it has been assumed that the four levels are linked in a causal
sequence. In other words, positive reactions cause learning to occur, learning
in turn causes behaviour change, and so on. The other side of this coin is
that, if trainee reactions are negative, no learning will occur and there will
be no behaviour change. Again, they question whether this will inevitability
be the case, pointing out that negative experiences which cause trainees to
react adversely to the course can nevertheless lead to learning and behaviour
change. By way of illustration, making mistakes in front of other trainees
could easily qualify as a negative experience, but the resulting feedback
when these are pointed out could result in learning and behaviour changes.
3 Finally, the presumption has been that all four criteria are positively cor-
related with each other in the sense that, if a large effect is observed for
one criteria, a large effect will also tend to be observed for the others, and
vice versa. Alliger and Janak point out that there is little evidence to either
support or refute this particular assumption
What is notable about the Alliger and Janack review is the fact that, although
they make some important points about how some trainers may have misinter-
preted the model, they do not fundamentally criticise the model itself. To this
extent Kirkpatrick’s model seems to have stood the test of time and it will no
doubt continue for some time to be a valuable tool for those charged with the
very important role of evaluating training.
interest. The experiment will usually involve the manipulation of some variable
or other. Once this has been chosen, the scientist will have to decide what
is to be measured in order to evaluate the effects of the manipulation. This
might be followed by consideration of a series of questions such as when the
measurements should be taken, how often they should be taken, and so on. A
simple example will illustrate the approach. Suppose the scientist is a doctor
who is interested in the effects of a certain drug on the human body. The
variable to be manipulated is therefore the drug in question. A decision might
be taken to test for the drug’s effects by measuring changes in blood pressure.
One possible experimental design would be to give the drug to a single group
of patients to test for its effects, in which case blood pressure could be measured
before and after drug administration. However, one potential problem here is
the possibility that the testing procedure itself might temporarily affect people’s
blood pressure even in the absence of any drug. For example, they might react
to the injection itself. In this situation, the scientist needs to consider whether it
is necessary to have a separate group of patients who are put through exactly
the same test procedure, except that they do not receive the drug. This control
group allows any effects of the procedure itself to be picked up.
In training terms, the training experience is the variable of interest and is
analogous to the drug in the above example. The choice of one of Kirkpatrick’s
criteria constitutes what is to be measured, and therefore corresponds to blood
pressure in the example. It would also be possible either to measure the same
group of people on a before and after basis as above, or alternatively to have a
separate control group of people who do not receive the training. However, it is
important not to push this analogy between training and laboratory experiments
too far. Most training takes place in real life organisational settings, and it is
rarely possible to conduct a true experiment of the type which might take
place in a laboratory. Campbell and Stanley (1963) have used the term quasi-
experimental designs to describe procedures which adhere to the principles
of experimental design, but which are necessarily somewhat removed from
pure experiments because of the kinds of real life, practical constraints which
exist when training evaluation programmes are carried out. Table 7.2 illustrates
some of the quasi-experimental designs proposed by Campbell and Stanley for
possible use in training evaluation. Where the word ‘test’ is used in the table
this indicates that information has been collected in the form of one or more of
Kirkpatrick’s criteria or any other equivalent measure of training effects.
1 After within design. The first approach shown in the table is known as a
‘within group’ design. This simply means that information is only collected
from delegates who have been on the course and there is no separate
control group. The first of these is the simplest design of the four shown.
Data are collected at one point in time, after the training has taken place.
Unfortunately, it is often difficult to place much reliance on information
collected in this way. An example will illustrate the difficulty. Suppose the
course in question is a customer care programme, and delegates are given a
questionnaire at the end of the course in which they are required to indicate
how they would deal with a number of customer-related situations. Even if
the replies are closely in line with the training objectives, we learn little about
the effectiveness of the course simply because, for all we know, delegates
might have answered the questionnaire in exactly the same way even if
they had not been on the programme. In other words, we know nothing
about the trainees’ level of ability and knowledge before the programme
and therefore we cannot be sure that the training itself has had any effect.
2 Before after within design. The second design shown in the table is also
a within group design. By taking measurements before the training begins
as well as at the end, information is collected on the trainees’ knowledge,
attitudes, or whatever before the start of the training. By examining changes
between the pre- and post-training period, a more reliable indication of the
effects of the training can be obtained. However, this design has at least
two problems. First, it is possible that something in the external environ-
ment, rather than the training programme itself, could have influenced the
individuals concerned. Suppose an organisation decides to train a group of
managers who have responsibilities for negotiating with trade union rep-
resentatives. Let us further assume that the organisation believes that the
managers in question are too sympathetic to the union’s position and there-
fore give away too much in negotiations. A course is therefore designed to
change attitudes in a more company-oriented direction, in the hope that this
will result in a tougher approach to bargaining. Before and after measures
of the managers’ attitudes to trades unions are taken and significant changes
in the desired direction are observed. On the face of it, the training pro-
gramme seems to have produced the desired effect. However, let us further
suppose that, during the intervening period between the two data collec-
tion points, there is a transport strike which causes great inconvenience to
the public, including the delegates on the programme. This event, rather
than the training itself, might well have produced the observed changes
in attitudes. This sequence of events could therefore lead to the situation
where the training programme was credited with an effect which it had not
actually produced.
The second problem with this design can also be illustrated by means of an
example. Let us take a course designed to change the leadership style of a
newly appointed group of leaders of self-managed teams. Before embark-
ing on the training, delegates are given a series of examples of leadership
situations and asked how they would deal with them. This measure is then
repeated at the end of the programme. Assuming that there were no impor-
tant external influences which could have affected questionnaire responses,
it is tempting to conclude that any observed changes demonstrate an effect
of training. However, there is another way in which these results could be
explained. Suppose the very act of completing the questionnaire stimulated
trainees to think about the leadership situations in question. Further reflec-
tion on these in the intervening period between the two administrations led
them to change their views on how best to handle these particular issues.
The observed change would thus be a result of this reflective process, rather
than the training programme itself. It is known that some questionnaire-
type measures can indeed have this kind of effect. They are known as
reactive measures, for the obvious reason that individuals respond to them
in some way, so that any possible effects of training are confounded with
changes due to the measuring instrument itself.
3 After between design. In this design, in addition to the trainees, there is
a separate control group of employees who are not being trained but who
are also asked to complete the training effectiveness measures at the end of
the training period. The effectiveness of the training can then be estimated
from the size of the difference between the responses of the training and
control group. By using this method, many of the problems of within group
designs can be avoided. However, it does assume that delegate and control
groups are similar at the outset and this requires careful matching of the two
groups at the beginning. Also, for technical reasons of a statistical nature,
between group studies are less sensitive when it comes to identifying small
effects of training than within group studies.
4 Before after within and between design. In the final design shown in the
table, both training and control groups are given the relevant test before
as well as after the training. This is quite a sophisticated design which
incorporates the benefits of both the within and between approaches and
avoids most of the problems mentioned above. For example, it is possible
to check that the control and training groups are properly matched by
inspecting their pre-training scores. Reactions to the measure itself or an
influence of the external environment would be indicated if the control
group scores changed over the training period. The use of two within
measures on the trainee group provides the sensitivity to pick up small
effects. Unfortunately, this type of design is complicated to set up and run
and for this reason one suspects that it is rarely used in practice.
courses. This is particularly the case for those in professional and managerial
roles and consequently much of the discussion in the remainder of this module
applies particularly to these groups. There are several reasons why training by
itself is insufficient to ensure that individuals have the opportunity to fulfil their
potential to the benefit of themselves and the organisation. These include the
following.
7.6.2 Self-development
As a method of assessing each individual’s strengths and weaknesses, develop-
ment centres can assist the organisation in fulfilling its responsibility to develop
its employees, and in this respect they perform a useful function. However,
as part of their overall philosophy of managing people, many organisations
take the view that development should not be the sole responsibility of the
organisation, but that individuals should also take some responsibility for their
own self-development. One aspect of this is to encourage individuals to analyse
their own strengths and weaknesses in their current work role. Another is to
invite them to consider ways in which they might develop themselves to take
on new roles in future. Going hand-in-hand with these activities would be a
self-examination of ways in which their capabilities could be enhanced through
training, the provision of appropriate work experience, or whatever. Of course
for this self-analysis process to work successfully, the organisation would need
to provide support for the individual. This could take a variety of forms. For
example, short courses in how to carry out self-analysis could be set up, per-
haps led by a specially trained facilitator. Another alternative would be to set
up self-development groups. This would involve bringing together a group of
managers, with or without a facilitator, to discuss their personal development
needs and how they might be fulfilled.
The coaching role of a manager with respect to her immediate subordinate is,
in some respects, constrained by the nature of the power relationship between
them. For example, a subordinate may not wish to admit difficulties and prob-
lems to, or seek help from, the person who is responsible for his appraisal.
As we saw in Module 6, performance evaluations can, and often do, include
recommendations about issues which are crucially important for the individual,
such as salary and promotions.
These potential difficulties can be circumvented by the adoption of a mentor
system. A mentor is normally more senior to the person being mentored, but the
two are not in a direct line management relationship to each other. The mentor
can, of course, perform many of the same coaching roles described above for
the immediate supervisor. However, if the mentor has not actually performed
the job in question, his lack of direct experience of the job may limit the amount
of advice that he can give. On the other hand, the mentor can do things which
the line manager coach cannot. For example, one of the roles of a mentor might
be to monitor the performance of the person’s immediate manager to ensure
that the latter actually takes the time and trouble to carry out his coaching
duties properly. In addition, as mentioned above, the absence of a supervisory
relationship between mentor and those being mentored may mean that the latter
feels more able to seek help with problems and difficulties.
7.8 Summary
In addition to being core operational level activities, training and development
are critically important for the successful implementation of a number of HRM
strategies. Training needs analysis which is systematic and the determination
of training priorities should constitute the first stage of any major training pro-
gramme. For a programme to be effective, appropriate training content and
process have to be determined. Formal evaluation of training outcomes is essen-
tial and this involves decisions about which criteria to use and about how best
to collect the necessary information. Development differs from training insofar
as its scope is broader and it has a longer-term perspective. A variety of tech-
niques can be used to develop individuals, including: action learning; coaching
and mentoring; and planned work experience. Development for employabil-
ity attempts to motivate individuals by providing them with transferable skills
so that they can more readily change organisations with a view to advancing
their careers. We concluded the module by touching on the interface between
employee development and the individual’s lifetime career both within the
organisation and outside of it. It is to this last question which we turn in the
next and final module of this text.
Review Questions
True/False Statements
Each statement requires a single response – ‘True’ or ‘False’.
7.2 Employee development has a narrower focus than training, since it is only
concerned with improving specific aspects of performance.
7.3 By enhancing a person’s capabilities, training can contribute towards the HRM
objective of motivating the individual.
7.5 Determining training needs and priorities is usually the second stage in setting
up a training programme.
7.6 Organisation-wide training is carried out in exactly the same way for all levels
of employee in the organisation.
7.7 Individual level training needs analysis is only concerned with individuals who
have particular problems in coping successfully with their job.
7.8 The preferred method of collecting information about training needs is largely
a function of the level at which the needs have been analysed.
7.9 Dedicated training needs analysis collects qualitative, but not quantitative,
information about training requirements.
7.10 Training needs and training priorities are essentially the same thing.
7.11 Priority should always be given to providing training directed at the competen-
cies which are critical for effective job performance.
7.13 Breaking tasks down into component parts helps little in determining appro-
priate training content. It is the broad overview of what needs to be learned
which counts.
7.16 Mintzberg proposed that managerial work could be broken down into the three
categories of interpersonal, decision making, and planning and organising.
7.18 One thing both memory training and comprehension have in common is the
fact that they both involve understanding.
7.19 Kolb suggested that there are three stages in the learning cycle.
7.20 There are certain learning principles which can be applied across a wide spec-
trum of learning tasks.
7.21 The nature of the learning process will be different, depending on what has to
be learned.
7.22 The term evaluation criteria refers to those training outcomes which can be
measured in order to assess how successful the training has been.
7.24 Alliger and Janack (1989) reviewed developments in the intervening period
since Kirkpatrick put forward his original model for training evaluation and
concluded that the model is fatally flawed.
7.26 A drawback of Kirkpatrick’s trainee reactions criteria is the fact that it is the
trainer’s boss, rather than the trainer herself, who gets to see the evaluations.
7.27 Kirkpatrick’s learning criteria tests whether the training material has been
absorbed, rather than whether it can be reproduced.
7.28 Increased profitability would be defined as a results criteria for the evaluation
of training in Kirkpatrick’s model.
7.29 A learning experience has external validity when what has been learned trans-
fers to the workplace.
7.30 When ‘within’ designs are used in experiments to evaluate training, there is no
separate control group.
7.31 It is generally agreed that responsibility for employee development lies with
the organisation, rather than the individual.
7.32 At the end of the day, it is up to the organisation to make sure that the terms
of the learning contract are delivered.
7.33 All ‘on the job’ experience qualifies as planned work experience.
7.35 Mentoring, but not coaching, can help an individual to make political connec-
tions in the organisation.
7.1 What is meant by the term training content? Describe one method of deter-
mining training content.
7.2 To what extent is it true to say that training and development have a crucial
role in the implementation of HRM strategy?
7.3 Describe the various ways in which training needs can be analysed.
7.4 What general learning principles can a trainer utilise when designing and
running training courses?
The course begins with a two-hour lecture from the trainer on the principles of good
interviewing, in which delegates are given advice on how best to plan for and conduct
a selection interview. This is followed by a series of role play scenarios. In the first of
these, one of the delegates interviews a ‘candidate’ for a particular post. The episode
is filmed on closed circuit television with other delegates and the trainer observing the
interaction. The video recording is replayed in order to review the performance of the
manager and advice given on how performance can be improved. Both positive feedback
on what was done well and negative feedback on what was done badly are provided.
Delegates participate in the feedback process along with the trainer. The whole episode
takes about 45 minutes The process is repeated for each delegate until all have been
exposed to the role play situation. This completes the first day of the course. On day
two of the course, the whole process is repeated so that all trainees have at least two
opportunities to carry out the role play. Once all of the role plays have been completed,
the course ends with a one hour lecture on the evaluation errors interviewers make when
they assess candidates. There is even a pass-fail criteria set for the course and delegates
who have not reached the required standard, as judged by the trainer, are deemed to
have failed the course. Those who fail are not allowed to take any part in selection
interviews in the organisation until they re-take and pass the training course.
Your task is to identify the main learning principles involved in the method she is
proposing and to comment on how valuable these are likely to be in ensuring the
success of the programme.
References
Alliger, G.M. and Janack, E.A. (1989). ‘Kirkpatrick’s levels of training criteria: Thirty
years later’, Personnel Psychology, 42, 331–41.
Annette, J., Duncan, K.D., Stammers, R.B. and Gray, M.J. (1971). ‘Task analysis’, Training
Information Paper No. 6, London: HMSO.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Campbell, J.P. (1971). ‘Personnel training and development’, Annual Review of Psychology,
Palo Alto, California: Annual Review, 1971.
Campbell, D.T. and Stanley, J.C. (1963). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for
Research, Chicago: Rand McNally.
Hales, C.P. (1986). ‘What do managers do? A critical review of the evidence’, Journal of
Management Studies, 53, 88–115.
Honey, P. and Mumford, A. (1989). The Manual of Learning Opportunities, Maidenhead:
Peter Honey.
Industrial Training Research Unit (ITRU) (1976). Choose an Effective Style: A Self-
instructional Approach to the Teaching of Skills, Cambridge: ITRU Publications.
Kirkpatrick, D.L. (1967). ‘Evaluation of training’, Training and Development Handbook, eds.
Craig, R.L. and Bittel, L.R., New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mintzberg, H. (1973). The Nature of Managerial Work, London: Harper & Row.
Revans, R.N. (1972). ‘Action learning – a management learning programme’, Personnel
Review, 1, 36–45.
Stewart, R. (1976). Contrasts in Management, Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill.
Contents
8.1 The Concept of Career Management 8/2
8.2 Individual Perspectives 8/2
8.2.1 Career Choices and Decisions 8/2
8.2.2 Career Stages 8/5
8.2.3 Work Role Transitions 8/6
8.2.4 Career Expectations and the Psychological Contract 8/8
8.3 Organisational Perspectives 8/9
8.3.1 The Organisation’s Responsibility for Career Management 8/9
8.3.2 Career Management Methods 8/10
8.3.3 New Forms of Work Organisation and the Psychological Contract 8/14
8.3.4 An Alternative Approach to the Psychological Contract 8/16
8.3.5 Career Management in Perspective 8/17
8.4 Gender and Careers 8/18
8.4.1 Gender, Careers and Organisational Effectiveness 8/18
8.4.2 The Career Choice Process 8/19
8.4.3 Career Opportunities 8/19
8.4.4 Are there Performance-related Differences between the Sexes? 8/21
8.5 Summary 8/22
Review Questions 8/23
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
• distinguish between individual and organisational perspectives on careers.
• describe Holland’s theory of career choice.
• describe the concept of career anchors.
• understand what is meant by career stages.
• explain the theory of work role transitions.
• explain what is meant by the psychological contract.
• describe techniques which can be used to help individuals to manage their
careers.
• compare the career choices and opportunities of men and women.
• understand what is meant by the glass ceiling effect and its possible causes.
function of the extent to which the individual’s personality type and occupation
of choice are well matched.
Holland proposed that there are six personality types which are particularly
relevant to occupational choice. Also, he suggested that work environments and
therefore occupations can be classified according to the six types. The personality
types tend to reflect both what a person will enjoy and also what he or she will
be good at. The personality types are:
1 Realistic. Those with this personality type enjoy outdoor activities involving
physical strength and exertion. Occupations requiring a large element of
outdoor physical work would be congruent with this personality type.
2 Investigative. Individuals who lean towards this category enjoy working
with abstract concepts and tasks requiring logical analysis. An occupation
which would fit well here would be that of physical scientist.
3 Artistic. This describes people who are imaginative and are good at express-
ing feelings and emotions. Matching occupations are found in vocations
involving the arts.
4 Social. These types tend to exhibit warmth in relationships and enjoy
helping others. The caring professions, such as nursing, would be congruent
with this type.
5 Enterprising. These types also enjoy working with people, but they prefer
a controlling rather than a helping role. They can be contrasted with inves-
tigative types, in the sense that they are doers, rather than thinkers. Many
managerial roles in organisations would match this type.
6 Conventional. Individuals described by this type are rules and procedures
oriented. They are organised, rather than creative. Occupations with a high
administrative component would be congruent here.
According to Holland’s theory, people are not described in terms of one single
type, but rather they are categorised by the types that they most resemble.
Holland proposes that people can best be described in terms of the three types
which they resemble most and all three are relevant to career choice. Selecting
an occupation which is congruent with these will, according to the theory, tend
to result in a satisfying and successful career for the person. As far as this last
point is concerned, the research evidence indicates that there is only a weak
relationship between congruence on the one hand and satisfaction and success
on the other (Tranberg et al., 1993). Nevertheless, despite the limited support for
this prediction, the evidence suggests that other aspects of the theory seem, on
the whole, to be reasonably well founded.
1 Exploration. This occurs roughly between the ages of 15 and 24 and is the
period where initial occupational choices are made.
2 Establishment. This is the period when the person makes his mark on the
organisation and generally consolidates his value to it. The age range here
is around 25–44.
3 Maintenance. The age range here is from 45–64. The major pre-occupation
here is to hold onto one’s established position, perhaps in the face of
thrusting competition from younger, up and coming, managers.
4 Disengagement. Involvement with work gradually becomes reduced and
the individual becomes less of a central player and more of an observer.
The suggested age here is 65 plus.
While the sequence of events proposed by Super seems quite plausible, the
proposed age ranges are probably in need of modification in the changed circum-
stances of the modern world. In particular, the age at which the disengagement
stage begins should perhaps be revised downward in the light of the current
trend for careers to become shorter. There are a number of reasons for this
trend. It is partly because of a fashion in some organisations to favour younger
employees at the expense of older ones in the (probably mistaken) belief that
the former have more to offer. This has led to a situation where older employ-
ees are frequently targeted when there is a need for downsizing. From the
employee’s perspective, increasing affluence, at least in the West, has made it
possible for many people to opt out of full-time employment in middle age.
Finally, the advent of flexible work practices, where former full-time employees
can be re-engaged on a part-time basis as and when needed, has reinforced these
trends.
1 Occupational choice. This is the stage of preparation for work and it lasts
until the person is about 25 years old. Holland’s theory of career choice is
clearly applicable to this career stage.
2 Organisational entry. This is the period where the individual has to make
important decisions both about occupations (what kind of work do I want
to do?) and organisations (what kind of organisation do I want to join?).
Individuals can be faced with difficult choices at this time since, because
of their lack of experience of the world of work and of organisations, they
often have insufficient information upon which to make informed decisions.
This is not helped by the tendency of many organisations to focus too
much on selling themselves to potential employees and too little on giving
applicants a realistic picture of what they expect and what they have to
offer.
3 Early career. This occurs between 25 and 40 years. During this career stage,
the person needs to become established by learning how the organisation
ticks. It is a time of organisational socialisation where the individual learns
about how things work, about the organisation’s culture and expectations of
employees, and so on. This is a period of achievement, where the individual
not only develops various organisational competencies, but he or she may
well also be given increasing responsibility and power in the organisation.
It is a stage where organisational help with career management can be
particularly important.
4 Mid-career. This stage spans the period between the ages of 40 and 55
years. While for some this is a time of continued advancement, for others
their career will plateau, with little prospect of further promotion. This may
well lead to decreased motivation and reduced job satisfaction. Given that
career plateaus are inevitable for many, at least within organisations with
pyramidal structures, they represent a major challenge for career manage-
ment.
5 Late career. This period begins around the age of 50. Clearly, career plateau
effects will be experienced by even more individuals at this stage, and
maintaining motivation and performance is likely to be an even greater
challenge for organisations. This situation can be exacerbated if the kinds
of stereotypical views mentioned above about the relationship between age
and performance are widely held within the organisation. In fact, many
would argue that any decline in performance at this career stage is more
likely to be attributable to low motivation as a result of career plateau effects
than to any inherent deficits due to ageing per se.
in the past. For example, the globalisation of operations can lead to a require-
ment for international job re-locations. The increased pressure for change and
innovation generally is likely to lead to the creation of new work roles. In
addition, downsizing and de-layering are likely to lead to an increased tendency
for individuals to find themselves having to make inter-organisational moves.
The introduction of innovative HRM practices also means that major work role
changes can occur even though the person ostensibly remains in the same job
and with the same organisation. Thus, the introduction of functional flexibility
requires individuals to take on expanded work roles. To take another example,
empowerment brings with it new responsibilities to which the person has to
adjust. We have also seen that the introduction of self-managed teams results in
major changes in work roles and responsibilities.
There are a number of potentially adverse consequences of these transitional
experiences for the individual, many of which have knock on effects in the
organisation. These can include increased stress levels, reduced job satisfaction,
and lowered performance. Nicholson and West (1988) have put forward a theory
of work role transitions to describe the processes of adjustment which take
place when a person has to change job or work roles. Their theory states that
the individual goes through a four stage adaptation process when faced with a
major work role transition. Each stage presents rather different problems for the
individual. It follows from this that the potential strategies which individuals
and organisations can adopt to cope with these problems are also rather different
at each stage.
1 Preparation. This refers to the period preceding the job or role change.
Common problems at this stage include unrealistic expectations and anxiety
arising out of uncertainty about the nature and demands of the new role. A
number of strategies can be adopted by both individuals and organisations
to deal with these reactions. One thing the individual can do is carry
out a systematic self-appraisal against job requirements. This might help to
alleviate worries about coping with the new job demands. An offer from the
organisation of advance meetings and contacts with new colleagues can also
be beneficial. One of the most useful ways to reduce unrealistic expectations
is by means of a realistic job preview (RJP). The idea of an RJP is to provide
the person with accurate information about job duties and demands in the
new role. It is especially useful in this context if information is provided
about sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the job. There are various
ways of providing an RJP. These include incorporating it as part of the job
interviews, giving specially arranged briefing sessions, or including it in the
advance meetings mentioned above.
2 Encounter. This takes place during the initial weeks and months in the new
role. If the preparatory stage is not well handled and the individual enters
the new role with unrealistic expectations, then this can be a period of
regret over the decision that has been taken. The person can also experience
feelings of uncertainty and ambiguity at this time as he seeks information
about what is expected of him. In this context, it is not just duties and
responsibilities which matter, it is equally important to be fully conversant
with organisational politics and culture. An active information seeking
Development Centres
Development centres have already been mentioned in two modules in this text.
Their use, alongside appraisal systems, for identifying those with potential for
promotion was discussed in Module 6. In Module 7, we saw how knowledge
derived from development centres could feed into the employee development
process. Development centres can also be used as part of the long-term career
planning process. However, as described in Modules 6 and 7, the main function
of development centres was to evaluate individuals’ strengths and weaknesses
for purposes of helping the organisation fulfil its future staffing needs. This
strong emphasis on evaluating the person for the organisation’s benefit does
not fit too well with the notion of career management as described above.
Career management is in many ways more about the individual’s, rather than
the organisation’s, needs. Indeed this is one of the main reasons why career
management is seen as ultimately the individual’s responsibility.
What kinds of difficulties might be encountered when development centres
focusing purely on evaluation are used as part of the career management pro-
cess? In the first place, such an emphasis is likely to lead participants to view the
whole exercise as being carried out primarily for the organisation’s benefit, rather
than their own. This in turn is likely to influence people’s whole attitude to the
experience. Because development centres are expensive and time-consuming to
run, the organisation may only be able or willing to put a proportion of man-
agers through the centre. This not only raises the tricky problem of how best
to select individuals to attend; it also risks demotivating those who are not
selected for the centre. Demotivation can also occur for those who are invited,
but who do not perform particularly well at the centre, and who subsequently
feel that their promotion opportunities have been curtailed. Someone in this
position could easily be forgiven for feeling aggrieved that all of his efforts and
achievements in the job over a number of years apparently count for less than
his performance on a few exercises conducted over two or three days.
One way to reduce some of these problems would be to put more emphasis
on meeting the individual’s needs, at least in those instances where development
centres were being used as part of a career management programme. A step in
this direction would be to have more or less open access to the centre, rather
than restricting it to a small number of people identified as having potential.
The centre could include sessions in which individuals had the opportunity to
think about, and perhaps reassess, their own career expectations and aspirations.
There would still be an evaluation element in the process, but this would be as
much for the benefit of the individual as for the organisation. Thus, the results
of tests and exercises could be used to provide an indication to individuals
as to how their abilities match up to various possible career options. At the
end of the development centre, all of the information gathered might then be
reviewed with a senior manager. The latter would be expected to take very
much a counselling oriented approach designed to help individuals both to firm
up their own career plans and objectives and to take steps to implement them.
It should by now be clear to the reader that there are many different ways
in which a development centre can be designed and run, depending on its
intended purpose. In particular, the extent to which it is intended to meet the
needs of the organisation, versus those of the individual, will be an important
consideration here. Often a delicate balance will have to be struck between these
two frequently competing requirements.
which an effective coach or mentor can benefit the individual from a career
point of view. These include generally promoting the person’s interests, increas-
ing their visibility with important people, alerting them to career opportunities
within the organisation, and recommending them for promotion.
Career Counselling
If individuals are to plan and manage their careers effectively, it is important
that they have an accurate and comprehensive picture of their own strengths,
weaknesses, capabilities, and potential. A number of the organisational practices
we have already discussed, such as performance appraisal and development
centres, provide this feedback. However, as we saw above in our discussion
of development centres, in many cases such feedback tends to be focused
on the organisation’s needs, with those of the individual often being seen as
being of secondary importance. Career counselling reverses this tendency with
the emphasis being placed firmly, indeed in some cases exclusively, on the
individual’s requirements. In some instances the counselling role is undertaken
by the human resources department, possibly, as we saw above, as part of a
development centre. However, in order to ensure that the counselling is entirely
in the individual’s interest, some organisations have preferred to buy in outside
expertise to carry out this role. This is particularly likely to be the case where
the counselling is of the out-placement variety. The objective of out-placement
counselling, which is frequently initiated as part of a redundancy programme,
is to assist the person to develop his career outside of the organisation.
Career Workbooks
These can be used either as an alternative to the workshop approach, or they
can be used to complement it. In any case, the aim is very similar insofar as
both are designed to increase the individual’s self-awareness of job and career
opportunities. Workbooks have the advantage that people can work through the
questions and exercises contained in them at their own speed and in their own
time. What they lack is the detailed feedback from others in a similar situation
which characterises the workshop approach.
Educational Opportunities
Organisations can support the development of employees’ careers by encour-
aging them to embark on continuing education programmes of various types.
Of particular interest here would be programmes which enhance promotion
prospects or which make it easier for a person to change career direction. Some
programmes will be closely related to the person’s current job, such as for
example, an MSc course designed to up-date an engineer’s technical knowledge.
Other programmes are more developmental, in the sense that they widen the
individual’s career horizons. An example here might be an MBA degree under-
taken by a technical specialist who wants to develop into a manager. There may
even be no immediate or obvious connection between the programme and the
workplace, such as when a person embarks on a course to improve his language
skills purely out of personal interest.
Organisational support for this kind of activity can take a variety of forms
including financial assistance, time off to attend college or university, or even the
provision of an in-company learning resource centre. The latter might include a
variety of self-learning materials such as interactive computer learning packages,
distance learning materials, and so on.
In particular, flexibility results in minimal job security for all those in peripheral
work roles.
As we have seen, a number of organisations in the 1980s reacted to intensified
competition by downsizing. Making large numbers of people redundant in this
way not only ended job security for those who lost their jobs, but it presumably
sent a strong signal to those remaining about their likely future. No doubt many
of those that remained in employment were left wondering when it might be
their turn.
The trend in some organisations towards teams being assembled on a tempo-
rary basis to work on a series of short-term projects is also likely to reinforce
perceptions of employment as short term and unstable, rather than long term
and secure.
By making organisations flatter and reducing the number of hierarchical lev-
els, the career ladder is automatically truncated with fewer opportunities for
advancement.
If the flexible firm contains only a small number of core jobs, this likewise
limits the career openings to precious few individuals.
Not only is the imperative for constant change and innovation likely to reduce
feelings of job security, it also has the potential to undermine policies of promo-
tion from within. This is because one obvious way to encourage innovation is
to recruit individuals for senior positions from outside the company, in order to
inject fresh ideas and thinking into the organisation.
The irony of all of this is the fact that, while on the one hand organisations
may be finding it increasingly difficult to deliver their side of the bargain, they
may now demand greater commitment from the employee. Thus, we have the
paradoxical situation where a number of HRM approaches emphasise the need
to engender high levels of commitment in employees, while at the same time
advocating forms of work organisation which are likely to lead to the lack of it!
Herriot (1992) has suggested that this leaves organisations with four very
difficult balancing acts to contend with when managing individuals and their
careers. These are:
and priorities associated with their chosen profession and these may well
be different from those of the organisation.
4 Feedback versus trust and autonomy. The imperative to deliver the best
possible service to the customer means that, more than ever, organisations
are dependent on employees providing them with detailed feedback about
customers and the state of the marketplace. In return, the organisation
needs not only to show trust in the employee’s judgement, but should also
be willing to delegate more responsibility to employees when dealing with
customers.
Given the complexity of this negotiation process, not only would significant
organisational initiatives need to be put in place for it to work but, in addition,
individuals would need considerable skills to be able to carry out their part of
the process to good effect. Herriot regards helping both sides to learn how to
carry out this process effectively as one of the key tasks of HR professionals of
the future.
while all things are possible including such a scenario, it is by no means certain
that this will be the case. In the first place, not all large organisations have
opted for the strategic HRM-inspired organisational arrangements and work
practices we have just been discussing. Many companies still operate along
traditional hierarchical lines and they may well continue to do so. After all,
we do not know for certain whether traditional working arrangements are
necessarily always inferior to, or less efficient than, some of the approaches
advocated by HRM theorists. Research on innovative work methods and new
forms of structural arrangement is in its infancy. Consequently, the verdict is
not yet in on whether they will ultimately turn out to deliver what they promise
and eventually become universally adopted. In any case, as has been pointed
out in earlier modules, even where de-layering, flexibility, team working, and
the like have been introduced, the changes have often been less far-reaching
than the theory advocates. To conclude this section, a wide range of career
scenarios currently exists in different organisations and may well continue to do
so for the foreseeable future. Granted the old idea of a lifelong career in one
organisation may be largely a thing of the past. Despite this, many organisations
still take a long-term view when recruiting, at least for certain valued categories
of employee. They also continue to take responsibility for providing this valued
group with opportunities for career development and advancement.
theories outlined above. Most of these were developed on the basis of research
into male employees and we cannot necessarily assume that they will always be
directly applicable to the careers of women.
will continue to be the case when the emerging cadre of relatively young
female managers work their way through the system. If these young women
are eventually going to break through the glass ceiling, no doubt they will have
a number of disadvantages to overcome. Ragins and Sundstrom (1989) have
suggested that women in this situation face three levels of disadvantage. These
are:
1 Organisational factors. A number of organisational procedures and poli-
cies can impede the progress of women managers. Ragins and Sundstrom
suggest that these include selection policies which either deliberately or
inadvertently discriminate against women. They also point out that where
women, for whatever reason, are denied the same training and development
opportunities as men, then they will be disadvantaged. How can discrimi-
natory practices of this sort be prevented, or at least minimised? One way
would be to have in place the kind of systems for selection, development,
performance management, and so on, which have been described in previ-
ous modules of this text. It would then be up to the organisation to take
steps to ensure that these are applied in the same way to all managers.
2 Interpersonal factors. In a male dominated environment, the nature of the
social relationships between men and women will mitigate against women
gaining the same quality of experience and support in the workplace as is
available to men. For example, an opposite sex mentoring relationship will
be quite different from, and perhaps less beneficial than, a same sex one.
In a male dominated organisation the latter may not always be available to
women managers. Male managers benefit from membership of the informal,
all male, social networks which are often found in male-dominated organi-
sations. On the surface, such networks do little more than provide a sense
of camaraderie amongst their members. However, on closer scrutiny, they
can provide subtle, but important, benefits for members. In particular, they
can offer the kind of support, contacts with ‘important’ people, and access
to privileged information which so often smooth the process of climbing
up the career ladder. As these authors see it, if you are ineligible to join
the club, you are clearly at a disadvantage as far as career advancement is
concerned.
3 Individual factors. Home-work conflicts can clearly impede a woman’s
career progress if she is in a position where she is expected to shoulder
the major responsibility for looking after the children. This is a particular
problem if she takes a career break to have a family, since she will very
likely come back into the workplace to find herself left behind by her male
counterparts. Responsibility for childrearing and not being the primary
breadwinner can also mean that a woman may not have the necessary
geographical mobility to take advantage of career opportunities when they
do present themselves.
All of this presents a real challenge for HRM managers if they are to ensure
fair and equal opportunities for both sexes. In fact there may be an even more
complex problem if, as has been suggested, there are fundamental differences
between men and women in their attitudes and behaviour at work. We will
consider this in more detail below.
this assumption having any basis in reality. We shall return to this question in
the next section.
8.5 Summary
Career management can be differentiated from employee development by its
longer time perspective and the greater onus it puts on the individual to take
responsibility for managing his or her own career. Theories of career choices and
decision making provide a number of insights into the career process from an
individual perspective. The theory of work role transitions highlights a number
of ways in which major work role changes impose strains on the individual
and suggests how these can be minimised. A number of techniques can be
used to help individuals to manage their own careers, including coaching and
mentoring, development centres, fast track schemes, and career workshops.
The psychological contract consists of an implicit set of assumptions held by
individuals and their organisations about what each side has to offer the other
and can expect to receive in return. Recent changes in HRM practices seem
to be making it more difficult for organisations to deliver their side of the
psychological contract, particularly in terms of job security and opportunities
for career advancement. As far as the latter is concerned, there is clear evidence
that female managers are under-represented in senior positions in organisations
compared with men. A number of reasons have been put forward to explain this
phenomenon including various ways in which women may be disadvantaged
in terms of career opportunities.
Review Questions
True/False Statements
Each statement requires a single response – ‘True’ or ‘False’.
8.2 Holland (1985) proposed that there are four personality types and associated
occupations.
8.4 According to Holland, enterprising types do not enjoy working with people.
8.5 In Schein’s (1993) theory, those who have a security career anchor see stability
of employment as almost as important as the content of the work.
8.6 In Schein’s (1993) theory, individuals with an autonomy career anchor can react
badly to rules oriented organisations.
8.7 Career stages are important because individuals are likely to have different
expectations from their employer depending on their career stage.
8.8 According to Super (1957), during the establishment stage of a person’s career,
a major preoccupation is to hold on to one’s established position.
8.9 Career plateau effects are most likely to occur in mid- and late career.
8.10 In Greenhaus and Callanan’s (1993) theory, lack of experience of working life
means that people are faced with difficult choices at the organisational entry
stage of their careers.
8.11 Although the theory of work role transitions states that a person goes through
a four stage adaptation process when work roles change, the problems the
person has to face at each stage are similar.
8.12 The main function of realistic job previews is to give the individual honest
information about pay and promotion opportunities before joining the organi-
sation.
8.13 Encounter is the first stage in Nicholson and West’s theory of work role transi-
tions.
8.14 In Nicholson and West’s theory of work role transitions, regret is one of the
emotions a person can experience at the encounter stage.
8.15 In Nicholson and West’s theory, people who have a strong need to control
the environment prefer to deal with the adjustment stage by means of role
development.
8.16 Employees are often provided with a written psychological contract when they
join the organisation.
8.19 There is really only one way to run a development centre properly, irrespective
of its purpose.
8.20 The rationale behind fast track schemes is the idea that even unexceptional
people can move rapidly up the organisational hierarchy provided they are
given enhanced training and development.
8.21 The difference between career counselling and other forms of feedback is
the priority given to the needs of the individual, rather than those of the
organisation.
8.22 A paradox of some modern organisations is the fact that, at a time when
they particularly value commitment from their employees, they are adopting
practices which are likely to have the opposite effect.
8.23 According to Herriot (1995), one way in which employees cope with lack of job
security is to avoid risks at all costs.
8.24 Herriot (1995) suggests that one of the key tasks for future HR professionals is
to train people to negotiate new style psychological contracts.
8.25 Since most career models are based on research on male employees, we cannot
automatically assume that they are applicable to women’s careers.
8.27 There is evidence to suggest that successful women managers tend to conform
to the stereotype of the typical male manager.
8.28 Most of the research evidence indicates that male and female managers do not
differ greatly in their styles of managing.
8.29 Although acting on unwarranted assumptions that men make better managers
than women may be unfair, it does not conflict with the fundamental tenet of
HRM to maximise the utilisation of human resources.
8.1 Explain the Nicholson and West (1988) theory of work role transitions. How can
the strain of going through work role transitions be minimised?
8.2 Why can managers expect to have to make more work role changes at the
present time than in the past?
8.3 How useful are fast track schemes as an aid to career management?
8.4 In what ways does the adoption of certain popular HRM practices make it
difficult for organisations to meet employees’ career expectations?
1 Indicate what information you would seek to collect in order to establish the
extent of the problem and the reasons for its occurrence. It might be useful
to frame your answer in terms of the kinds of questions you would ask of
appropriate people in the organisation.
2 On the assumption that there is a problem of the sort the chief executive has
outlined, indicate what steps might be taken to eradicate it.
References
Brenner, O.C., Tomkiewicz, J. and Schein, V.E. (1989). ‘The relationship between sex role
stereotypes and requisite management characteristics revisited’, Academy of Management
Journal, 32, 662-9.
Bruning, N.S. and Snyder, R.A. (1983). ‘Sex and position as predictors of organizational
commitment’, Academy of Management Journal, 26, 485-91.
Greenhaus, J. H. and Callanan, G. A. (1993). Career Management, Fort Worth, Texas:
Dryden Press.
Gutek, B.A. (1995). ‘Women at work’, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Organizational Behaviour,
ed. Nicholson, N., Oxford: Blackwell.
Herriot, P. (1992). The Career Management Challenge, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Herriot, P. (1995). ‘The management of careers’, Strategic Prospects for HRM, ed. Tyson,
S., London: Institute of Personnel Development.
Holland, J.L. (1992). Making Vocational Choices, Odessa, Florida: Psychological Assessment
Resources.
Lefkowitz, J. (1994). ‘Sex-related differences in job attitudes and dispositional variables:
Now you see them. . .’, Academy of Management Journal, 37 323-49.
Nicholson, N. and West, M.A. (1988). Managerial Job Change: Men and Women in Transition,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ragins, B.R. and Sundstrom, E. (1989). ‘Gender and power in organisations: A longitu-
dinal perspective’, Psychological Bulletin, 105, 51–88.
Schein, E.H. (1993). Career Analysis: Discovering Your Real Values, London: Pfeiffer and
Co.
Super, D.E. (1957). The Psychology of Careers, New York: Harper & Row.
Tranberg, M., Slave, S. and Ekeberg, S.E. (1993). ‘The relation between interest congruence
and satisfaction: A meta analysis’, Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 42, 253–64.
Employee Relations
Contents
9.1 What is Employee Relations? 9/2
9.2 Philosophical Approaches to Employee Relations 9/3
9.2.1 The Political Context 9/3
9.2.2 Frames of Reference 9/4
9.2.3 Collectivism v Individualism 9/5
9.2.4 Power, Influence, and Involvement 9/5
9.3 The Legal Framework 9/6
9.4 Employee Relations Themes 9/7
9.5 Unions and Collective Representation 9/9
9.5.1 Union Growth and Decline in the 20th Century 9/9
9.5.2 Union Recognition 9/10
9.5.3 The Future of Unions in Organisations 9/12
9.6 Grievance and Discipline 9/13
9.7 Health and Well-being 9/14
9.7.1 The Business Case for Promoting Health and Well-being at Work 9/15
9.7.2 Physical Aspects of Well-being 9/16
9.7.3 Psychological Aspects of Well-being 9/17
9.7.4 What can Organisations do to Maximise Health and Well-being at 9/18
Work?
9.7.5 Lifestyle Programmes and Well-being 9/20
9.7.6 Well-being and Organisational Culture 9/20
9.8 Techniques for Increasing Involvement at Work 9/20
9.8.1 Dimensions of Involvement 9/21
9.8.2 Communication and Consultation 9/21
9.8.3 Financial Arrangements 9/22
9.8.4 Participation in Decision-making 9/22
9.8.5 How Successful Are Involvement Techniques? 9/23
9.9 Summary 9/24
Review Questions 9/24
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
dealt with on a collective basis. For example, we saw in Module 4 that, despite
the existence of individual pay incentives in many organisations, many aspects
of pay are frequently agreed collectively between workers and management.
The importance of communication has been mentioned already in this text and,
although organisational efforts to communicate may be ultimately aimed at
individuals, the communication techniques are often applied collectively across
the organisation. Although at one level organisational commitment is about the
relationship between a person and the organisation he works for, nevertheless
many of the intervention strategies used to foster commitment are applied on a
collective basis. Many other examples could be given of the collective applica-
tion of HRM, but these few should suffice to give the reader sufficient idea of
what is being talked about here.
According to the definition used here, any HRM process or procedure that
is implemented on a collective basis falls within the scope of employee rela-
tions, even although such procedures might well affect organisational members
individually. As such, the field of employee relations embraces a much wider
range of activities than can be covered in a single module. Consequently we will
concentrate on a small number of key employee relations themes of particular
interest to contemporary human resource management.
the place of unions in a unitarist philosophy? While a unitarist view would not
seem to be fundamentally incompatible with union representation of the work-
force, the advantages of a union presence are less clear in this case. From this
perspective, since both employers and employees are ultimately seen as having
common interests, and since conflict is not inevitable, it can be avoided by good
management practice. Consequently, the case for collective representation in the
form of unions is not as strong from a unitarist perspective as it is from either
a pluralist or radical point of view.
The unitarist approach as described here has some elements in common with
the soft HRM models outlined in Module 2, insofar as the latter also espouse the
philosophy of shared common interests. However, a word of caution is in order
here with regard to the use of the term ‘unitarist’ in these two contexts. The
reader should not confuse the term unitarist as it has been used here with its
use in Module 2. In Module 2, the term unitarist was used to describe models
which endorsed the notion of only a small number of legitimate stakeholders in
an organisation, an idea which is, in fact, associated with hard HRM models.
This is quite unlike the definition of unitarist adopted by Fox, where it refers to
the notion of common interest among employers, managers and the workforce.
long history of health and safety legislation dating back to the Victorian era.
Nevertheless, there has been a marked increase in legislation concerned with
employee relations activity in recent decades. In part this was a consequence
of the growth of trade union influence in Britain in the decades after the
Second World War, with the sixties and seventies perhaps representing the era of
maximum trade union power. Collective bargaining between management and
unions was the name of the game at that time and unions represented employees’
interests right across the spectrum of employee–employer relationships. This
was also a time of considerable industrial conflict and this had a powerful
impact, not just on those working in organisations, but also on the economic
performance of the country and on society generally. One result of all of this
was the increased intervention of the state in organisational life in the form of
legislation to curb what was seen as the adverse effects of union/management
strife on the economy and society. Another important element in the growth of
employee relations related legislation in the UK and in much of Western Europe
has been the arrival of a series of initiatives origination in the European Union
with respect to working life. Here are just a few examples of some of the areas
of activity within employee relations in particular and HRM generally, which
are affected by UK legal requirements or European Union Directives: financial
remuneration and minimum wage rates; discrimination in employment with
respect to sex, race and disability; health and safety at work; maximum working
hours and rest periods; redundancy and dismissal; industrial disputes and the
right to strike; and trade union membership rights. At the present time, the
situation in Britain is such that there is a legal dimension to almost every aspect
of employee relations. Quite simply, in the modern world, it is inadvisable
for managers to embark on any aspect of employee relations without making
themselves fully conversant with the relevant legal restraints and requirements.
a fact of life many organisations tolerate and even encourage formal representa-
tion of employee collective interests. In the majority of cases, unions carry out
this role. Although, as we shall see, the influence of the unions has diminished
in recent years, large numbers of employees continue to be represented collec-
tively by them and they still have an important role in many organisations. On
the other hand, many organisations nowadays are union-free and an important
issue for them is how best to fill the vacuum left by the absence of unions.
Grievance and discipline is the second employee relations theme to be covered
in the module. Both employers and employees have rights and responsibilities
towards each other and, unless these are upheld by both parties, no organisation
can function effectively. Organisations need rules and regulations about appro-
priate behaviour in the workplace. Employees on the other hand have the right
to be treated in a fair and equitable manner, including receiving a fair recom-
pense for their contribution to the organisation. Human nature being what it is,
there are occasions when both parties fail to meet these rights and obligations.
For this reason well-run organisations need to have systems in place to allow
employees on the one hand to express their grievances and employers on the
other to discipline rule breakers.
An increasingly important theme in employee relations is well-being at work.
There are of course growing legal requirements on employers to ensure that
organisational demands do not impinge adversely on employees’ physical and
mental well-being. Also, most would agree that organisations have a moral
obligation to avoid the creation of conditions which have adverse effects on the
health of its members. Aside from these issues, as we shall see later, employee
health can have a significant impact on performance and for this reason alone it
is an important employee relations theme nowadays.
With reference to the themes of employee representation, grievance and disci-
pline, and well-being discussed above, while all of these have important impli-
cations for involvement, increasing involvement is not necessarily the primary
reason for, or objective of, employee relations activities in these areas. However
other employee relations initiatives clearly do have increasing involvement as
their major focus and these constitute the final theme of the module. Com-
munication falls into this category. The theme of communication runs through
many aspects of HRM and has already been touched on in previous modules.
In the present context we will look at communication issues in more depth,
focusing particularly at collective attempts at improving communication with
the aim of increasing employee involvement. Traditionally, communication has
often been thought of as an activity from the top down. But there are also vari-
ety of approaches organisations can use to provide an ‘employee voice’ in the
workplace through forms of upward communication. We have already touched
on the issue of influence of decision-making in organisations from a philosoph-
ical point of view. We now return to this topic and will examine its use as a
technique to increase involvement. Finally, the evidence on the extent to which
involvement initiatives have succeeded in practice will be examined.
highlight the extent of this decline. In 1979, union membership stood at 55.4%
(Marshall and Cox, 1992) and by 1995 this had decreased to 32% (Brown et al.,
1997). Also, the proportion of workplaces with no union members increased from
27% in 1984 to 47% in 1998 (Culley et al., 1999) There is no doubt that successive
government legislation has played a significant part in this diminution of the
unions. However, in addition to the impact of the law, a number of other reasons
can be put forward for this decline in membership and the concomitant reduction
in influence and power. Among these were the periods of high unemployment
experienced at this time and the growth of service industries at the expense of the
traditional union stronghold of manufacturing. The philosophy of individualism
embraced by the new HRM trends and the introduction of new work practices
such as flexibility also served to undermine traditional union influence.
Although union influence has declined in the UK and in a number of other
countries during the latter part of the 20th century, this trend has by no means
been universal. For example, some countries such as, for example, Denmark and
Finland experienced an increase in union membership between the seventies and
the nineties (Bratton and Gold 1999). There are also instances of countries, such
as France, where membership has been in decline, even although the proportion
of the workforce covered by collective bargaining is increasing (Bratton and
Gold 1999). Given that virtually all developed economies in Europe have had
to face similar competitive pressures during the period we are discussing, these
differences in the fate of unions are at first a little surprising. One might
have expected that organisations, regardless of their country of origin, would
react in a similar fashion to competitive pressures, resulting in broadly similar
outcomes with respect to the unions. According to Hollinshead and Leat (1995),
many of these apparent discrepancies can be explained by the different cultural
and political characteristics of the countries concerned. This nicely illustrates
the point made at the start of this section about the particular importance of
political and cultural factors in determining the course of management union
relationships.
Taking the case for recognition first, the existence of successful union–
management partnerships suggests that, in a well-managed organisation, a
union’s role in representing its members can be a positive one. As will become
increasingly clear as we progress through this module, any well run organisation
should have in place systems which allow organisational members to have their
collective interests expressed. Issues such as pay, health and safety, grievances,
discipline, and so on cannot really be managed sensibly without taking into
account employees’ views and interests. In the past unions have frequently ful-
filled this role and, in a well-managed organisation, there is no reason why, in
principle, their contribution in this regard cannot be a positive one. The same
can be said for negotiations about the modifications to working practices which
are often necessary when competitive pressures lead organisations to adopt
radically different forms of work organisation.
Aside from these specific issues unions, as representatives of their members,
can provide an important communication channel generally between manage-
ment and the workforce. This applies not just to downward communication,
but also to upward communication where they can act both as a vehicle for
providing information on emerging issues and problems, and as a forum for
discussing and resolving these. Another argument in favour of union recog-
nition comes from the observations of Marchington and Wilkinson (1996) who
make the important point that decisions agreed between management and work-
force representatives have more legitimacy than imposed ones. It is not hard
to see the connection between perceived legitimacy of decisions and employee
involvement. Another argument for union recognition, albeit from a somewhat
more negative perspective, relates to instances where there is a groundswell of
support from organisational members for union recognition. In these circum-
stances, management’s refusal to comply with its employees’ wishes could well
be damaging to any attempts to engender the involvement and commitment
they are so often striving to achieve.
Let us now turn to the case against union recognition. Despite the potential
benefits of union recognition outlined above, many organisations still prefer
to operate on a union-free basis. One explanation for this is the concern of
senior management that the existence of a union in an organisation erodes
management’s decision-making prerogative. There is no doubt that this can and
does happen, although this does not mean that such an outcome is inevitable.
Also, traditionally demarcation and long-term security of employment have
been priority aims for unions in their pursuit of their members’ interests. These
do not sit well with many current HRM practices, with their emphasis on
functional and numerical flexibility in the pursuit of enhanced competitiveness.
In more general terms, there is the whole issue of the compatibility between the
collectivist orientation of the unions and the individualist focus typical of much
contemporary HRM thinking. A good example of this individual orientation is
the strong trend in countries such as the UK away from indirect communication
with employees through their unions or other representatives. In its place there
has been a move towards direct communication between management and the
workforce, using procedures such as attitude surveys, team briefings, problem-
solving groups and the like (Millward et al., 2001). We will return to this issue
later in the module.
Whatever our views about the relative merits and drawbacks of unionised
versus union-free workplaces, one thing seems clear. Unions have in the past
fulfilled an important role in providing a voice for the collective interests of
their members with respect to a whole range of issues of concern to them. The
removal of the unions from the picture is therefore likely to leave a vacuum
organisations need to fill in some other way. For HRM to be effective in non-
union workplaces, alternative systems need to be in place to allow employees
an appropriate voice in matters which concern them. It is seldom a good idea
to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
9.7.1 The Business Case for Promoting Health and Well-being at Work
From one perspective, health and safety issues at work could be seen as simply
a cost item, with employers having to bear the burden of health and safety
provision as a consequence of a combination of legal requirements and union
pressure. Such a narrow view ignores the fact that, even putting aside ethical
considerations, a sound business case can also be made for investing resources
in health and well-being in organisations.
In terms of physical well-being, many examples could be given of the negative
impact of adverse, health threatening, working conditions on the effectiveness
of the individual. For example, dangerous environments can lead to injuries,
impair performance and lead to absence from the workplace. The existence of
hazardous chemicals can cause health problems, which can also result in lowered
performance and absenteeism. Poor working conditions, such as excessively long
hours, can be responsible for fatigue and reduced mental alertness making the
individual prone to making costly mistakes and errors.
Working arrangements that impair the psychological well being of individuals
can equally have an impact on effectiveness. Take the case of sources of stress at
repetitive work; conflict and uncertainty related to the individual’s work role;
bullying in the workplace; and so on. Consequences of stress in organisations
are also varied, some of the most commonly reported ones being feelings of
tension, anxiety, and low job satisfaction (Cooper and Payne, 1980).
While many of these traditional sources of stress are no doubt still relevant,
additional sources of pressure on individuals have been emerging recent years,
many of which relate to changes in methods of work organisation. Take for
example the case of flexibility. We have already discussed the advantages of
numerical flexibility from an organisational perspective in Module 3. However
from the point of view of well-being, it could be argued that these benefits
come at the cost of stress for those in the peripheral workforce, for example
in the form of the unsettling effects of job insecurity. In similar vein, many
contemporary HRM practices such as de-layering can result in a lack of career
advancement opportunities with consequent adverse psychological effects on a
significant number of individuals. As already mentioned, while some might
find empowerment a challenge, for others it can be perceived as a burden.
While arguments about the stressful consequences of many contemporary HRM
practices seem well grounded in logic, a note of caution is in order here. It
has to be admitted that research which specifically addresses the links between
these new forms of work organisation and stress on individuals is still pretty
thin on the ground. We need more hard evidence on this issue. Hopefully, this
will become an increasingly important research agenda in the future.
of information for management, but they can also have a important function
in making employees feel that their knowledge and views are valued by the
organisation. Examples of upward communication include suggestion schemes,
surveys of employee attitudes and opinions, customer care programmes, and so
on. Upward communication can also be an integral part of many of the HRM
working practices we have discussed in earlier modules in this text, such as for
example, TQM (see Module 3).
The distinction we have drawn here between upward and downward commu-
nication, while useful, is to some extent a simplification, since some techniques
can contain elements of both. For example we have classified the team briefing
method as primarily downward communication. However team briefings should
provide team members with the opportunity for questions and discussion, which
is essentially a form of upward communication.
9.9 Summary
The term employee relations refers to those policies and procedures which are
applied to employees collectively. The way in which an organisation pursues its
employee relations activities will be influenced by the political and legal context,
by the frame of reference it adopts and by its preference for collectivism as
opposed to individualism. A key theme underlying much of modern employee
relations is involvement. The decline of the influence of the unions in the 20th
century and the growth of new HRM philosophies and techniques has meant
that the role of unions in modern organisations is being re-appraised. Health and
well-being at work continues to be an important element in employee relations,
and there are a number of steps organisations can and should take to maximise
well-being at work. There are a number of techniques organisations can use to
increase employee involvement, although it appears that ‘the piecemeal nature
of some organisations’ interventions in this area limits their effectiveness.
Review Questions
True/False Statements
Each statement requires a single response – ‘True’ or ‘False’.
9.1 All HRM policies in organisations are best dealt with on a collective, rather than
individual, basis.
9.3 In all three of Fox’s frames of reference conflict can occur between employees
and employers in employee relations.
9.4 In Fox’s frame of reference, union representation will only ever exist where
management takes a radical or a pluralist approach.
9.5 According to most contemporary HRM thinking, all employee relations activities
should have employee involvement as their primary objective.
9.7 There has been a universal decline in union power and influence in the latter
part of the 20th century.
9.8 With the growth of direct communication and related HRM practices, it is now
clear that there can be no role for unions in the organisations of the future.
9.9 The WERS 1998 survey produced evidence that modern HRM practices and union
recognition can co-exist successfully in organisations.
9.10 The only reason formal grievance procedures are necessary in modern organi-
sations is because grievance always relate to sensitive and delegate issues.
9.11 Feelings of tension and anxiety are common causes of stress in organisations.
9.14 All approaches to stress management assume that the key priority is to remove
the sources of the stress or at least reduce it.
9.15 Specific measures aimed at employee well-being are likely to be more successful
when they are embedded in the organisation’s culture.
9.16 The case for increasing employee involvement is purely and simply one of
increasing competitiveness.
9.18 According to Boxall and Purcell (1993), the single most important question
which needs to be considered with respect to participation is the amount of
influence employees have on decisions.
9.19 There is evidence that employees have more interest in influencing decisions
which have an immediate effect on them compared with decisions which relate
to wider organisational matters.
9.20 We currently know more about people’s opinions about the value of the effects
of participation than we do about its effects on actual performance.
9.1 Explain Fox’s (1974) frames of reference and discuss their relevance for employee
relations.
Below are listed the statements of various managers at the meeting. You task is
to comment on their views and make suggestions as to the best way forward.
Chief Executive.
While I have an open mind on the issue, most of my fellow chief executives in other
companies tell me that unions are out-dated and all the best run organisations are
union-free nowadays. Also, I am the one who is responsible to the board and I would
be against having a union if it meant that it would be muscling in on my right to decide
what is best for the organisation. I am all in favour of participation as long as I decide
what happens!
Production Manager.
We are doing pretty well at the moment, so why change things. Everybody knows
that unions are a disruptive influence and always try to bias the workforce against
management. I know some companies find unions useful for things like grievance
procedures, but we have good managers here and we can handle grievances and the
like informally.
Finance Manager.
Once we let them in the door in no time at all they will be making unrealistic and
unreasonable wage demands. Before you know it we will either have endless strikes or
will give in to their demands and become uncompetitive.
Marketing Manager.
This will not affect my team too much, although we have to think about our image
here. I agree with the chief exec here (as usual!). None of the top companies bother
with unions nowadays and we shouldn’t either.
Safety Engineer.
Unions used to have a useful function in the bad old days when they kept us on our
toes as far as safety was concerned. Although the government pretty much does that for
us nowadays with all the various safety laws, I still think it would not be a bad thing
(even though it might make my job harder) if the unions were also keeping an eye out
for any health problems on their members’ behalf. After all, these days you can’t be too
careful where safety is concerned.
Personnel Manager.
I am in favour. The workers need somebody to look after their interests and nobody but
the unions can do this. Also, I have heard rumours that quite a few of our lads want to
have a union and if we oppose them on this its going to make it even harder to get
them committed to our future plans, especially the move to greater flexibility.
References
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Bristol.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (1999). Human resource Management: Theory and Practice, 2nd edn.,
Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Brown, W., Deacon, S. and Ryan, P. (1997) ‘The effects of British industrial relations
legislation, 1979–1997’ National Institute Economic Review, 161, 69–83.
Cooper, C. L. (1996). Handbook of Stress, Medicine, and Health, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Cooper, C. L. and Payne, R. (eds.) (1980). Current Concerns in Occupational Stress,
Chichester: John Wiley.
Culley, M., Woodlands, S., O’Reilly, A. and Dix, G. (1999). Britain at Work: The 1998
Workplace Relations Survey, London: Routledge.
Foulkes, F. K. (1980). Personnel Policies in Large Non-Union Companies, Prentice Hall:
Englewood Cliffs, NY.
Fox, A. (1974). Beyond Contract: Work, Power and Trust Relations, Faber and Faber:
London.
Gallie, D. and White, M. (1993). Employee Commitment and the Skills revolution, London:
Policy Studies Institute.
Guest, D. E. (1989) ‘HRM: Implications for industrial relations’, New Perspectives in
Human Resource Management, ed. Storey, J., London and New York: Routledge.
Hanson, C. and Rathkey, P. (1984). ‘Industrial democracy: a post-Bullock shopfloor
view’. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 22, 154–168.
Holden, L. (2004). ‘Employee involvement and empowerment’, Human Resource Manage-
ment: A Contemporary Approach, eds. Beardwell, I. Holden, L. and Clayton, T., Harlow:
Pearson Education Limited.
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Comparative Perspective, London: Institute of Management.
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Brief, July.
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ed. Sisson, K., Oxford: Blackwell.
Marchington, M. (1995). ‘Involvement and participation’, Human Resource Management:
A critical Text, ed. Storey, J., London: Routledge.
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Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Ackers, P. and Dundon, T. (2001). Management Choice
and Employee Voice, London: CIPD.
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Malthouse.
McKenna, E. (2000) Business Psychology and Organizational Behaviour, 3rd edn. , Hove:
Psychology Press.
McKenna, E. and Beech, N. (2002). Human Resource Management, Harlow: Pearson
Education Ltd.
Millward, N., Bryson, A. and Forth, J. (2000). All Change at Work: British Employment
relations 1980–1998 as portrayed by the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey Series, London:
Routlege.
Ramsey, H. (1996). ‘Involvement, empowerment and commitment’, Handbook of Human
Resource Management, 2nd edn, ed. Towers, B., Oxford: Blackwell.
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(Donovan Commission).
Slikeu, K. and Frank, C. (1986). ‘Manning the psychological first aid post’, Management
Today, February.
Contents
Module 1 A1/1
Module 2 A1/4
Module 3 A1/8
Module 4 A1/14
Module 5 A1/19
Module 6 A1/24
Module 7 A1/30
Module 8 A1/34
Module 9 A1/38
Module 1
True/False Statements
1.1 Human resource management (HRM) had its origins in the advanced West-
ern economies, particularly the United States. In the early 1980s, there was
an increasing awareness among many organisations in the West that they
were not competing effectively, both at home and internationally, and that
this was threatening their very survival. Also, there was a realisation that
the increasing globalisation of markets would lead to further intensification
of competition in the future. A major reason for this lack of competitiveness
was seen to be the success of Japanese companies in penetrating markets
world wide. Furthermore, better utilisation of human resources by Japanese
organisations was believed to be key to their competitive advantage.
HRM thus developed out of a conviction that the key to increased competi-
tiveness was better utilisation of people in organisations. HRM was seen as
a replacement for traditional personnel management, as practised in many
organisations, since the latter was felt to be incapable of delivering the
required improvements in the management of people in organisations.
In addition to the influence of the Japanese phenomenon, a number of
important research studies of successful companies in the West, notably that
of Peters and Waterman, pointed to people management as a critical factor
in achieving excellence in organisational performance.
Another influence on the development of HRM was the effect of politically
inspired changes in the West in the form of the so-called enterprise culture.
This encouraged new thinking about how organisations should be run. In
particular, prime place was given to market forces in the scheme of things,
along with a greater emphasis on value for money and customer satisfac-
tion. All of this had implications for how people should be managed and
reinforced the idea that organisations should replace traditional approaches
to people management with something which was more in tune with the
spirit of the times.
All of these factors led to the evolution of the field of HRM which, although
it still had much in common with traditional personnel management, dif-
fered from it in certain very important respects. According to proponents of
HRM, these differences are the key to ensuring the delivery of the complete
utilisation of human resources which is necessary to secure competitive
advantage for organisations.
1.2 Strategic HRM sets the various HRM philosophies, approaches, and tech-
niques which could be adopted by an organisation within the context of
its overall business requirements. In this respect, one of its functions is to
integrate a range of HRM techniques in pursuit of the overall objective of
supporting the organisation’s business strategy.
HRM in Action
1 There may well be good reasons to adopt an HRM approach, but we should
not necessarily accept everything outside experts recommend without think-
ing carefully about the extent to which the recommendations apply to our
particular circumstances.
2 Although in a sense HRM is designed to ‘replace’ personnel management,
the two have much in common. In particular, much of the expertise required
is common to both. This is particularly true at the operational level. Indeed
it has been argued by some that HRM and personnel management are not
as fundamentally different as is often made out. Consequently, we will not
Module 2
True/False Statements
2.1 The Fombrun model typifies what is known as ‘hard’ HRM, with the
emphasis being very much on the ‘resources’ rather than the ‘human’
aspect of HRM. Bottom line profit is the main consideration and people
are seen as no different from any other resource. In this model, everything
is driven by business strategy. Thus, for example, general strategy dictates
HRM strategy with no influence in the other direction. The model is highly
prescriptive in that it offers advice to managers as to how things ought to
be done.
On the positive side, the model argues for the integration of various HRM
activities in pursuit of overall business objectives. It also points out the need
to link HR strategy into overall business strategy. However, the model can
be criticised in a number of ways. For example, it takes little account of the
needs of employees. They are seen simply as resources to be utilised for the
organisation’s benefit. In this respect, it contrasts with traditional personnel
management which saw itself as having a legitimate interest in the welfare
of employees. The model is very unitarist in orientation, recognising only
a small number of legitimate stakeholders. For example, little mention is
made of trade unions or wider society. The one way relationship between
business strategy and HRM strategy is also problematic, since it precludes
2.2 The Beer et al. model of HRM, popularly known as the Harvard model, was
heavily influenced by the organisational behaviour literature, particularly
the human relations movement. The model typifies what is known as ‘soft’
HRM. In this respect, it emphasises the human, rather than the resource,
side of the HRM equation. The key to competitive advantage, according
to this view, is fully to realise people’s potential and so maximise their
contribution to the organisation. The model is very pluralistic insofar as it
recognises that there is a wide range of stakeholders in the organisation,
apart from senior management and shareholders. It also recognises that
general business strategy is only one of a number of factors which should
influence HR strategy. The model is somewhat prescriptive, but not overly
so compared with some others. For example, managers are presented with
policy choices rather than being told what is the single best way to do
things.
There is a strong emphasis on employee commitment in the model, which
is believed to lead to self-motivation and a willingness to adapt to change.
Furthermore, it is proposed that, if the right HR policies are adopted, these
will be to the mutual benefit of everyone in the organisation. The emphasis
on mutual benefit, and the general willingness to take employees’ inter-
ests into account makes the Harvard approach quite similar to traditional
personnel management. Because of the perceived importance of effective
management of human resources for achieving competitive advantage, the
model proposes that all managers should have some responsibility for HR
matters.
HRM in Action
A number of points could be made in your reply to the questions. Some of these
are listed below:
1 Is this soft approach any better than what they call the hard approach?
Since there is not a great deal of research testing out the different approaches,
it is not possible to give a definitive answer to this. However, the soft
Module 3
True/False Statements
3.1 Quality has been defined in a variety of ways in HRM theory. Four common
approaches are discussed in this essay.
Quality is often defined in terms of product superiority. The idea of quality
as product superiority came about largely as a response to the perceived
superiority of Japanese products. It is reasonably straightforward to define
what is meant by quality here. Relevant aspects of quality include a low
level of defects in manufacture, high reliability of the product in service,
and long life of the product. In essence, product quality is about providing
the customer with value for money.
Quality can also be defined as customer satisfaction. In this case the key
requirement is to meet customer expectations. When this definition is used,
quality criteria can be applied beyond manufacturing industry to include
both service industries and the public sector of the economy. The term cus-
tomer is usually defined broadly in this context, to include not only external
customers who buy services, but also internal customers who receive ser-
vices from other parts of the organisation. An important problem which
often arises when customer satisfaction is adopted as a quality criteria in
the service and public sectors is how best to define quality. For example,
there could well be high customer satisfaction among students on a particu-
lar degree programme if the pass rate was 100%, but would this necessarily
mean the degree was a high quality product?
Guest proposes three aspects of quality. The first is the quality of the staff
in the organisation. The second is the quality of performance (this relates to
product quality and customer satisfaction as described above) and the third
is s good reputation with the public as being a good employer.
Finally, quality has been defined as organisational culture. The idea here is
that quality is a fundamental feature of everything the organisation does.
This is often associated with an underlying philosophy which emphasises
the need for a continual striving for improvement in all aspects of the
organisation’s functioning.
3.4 Organisational culture can be defined as the shared values which are held
by the members of an organisation. Deal and Kennedy described it as ‘the
way we do things around here’. A strong culture can be said to exist when
two conditions prevail. First, the corporate culture – defined as the values
top management would like everyone in the organisation to share – is
clearly articulated and communicated to everyone. Second, these values are
genuinely shared among all members of the organisation.
The argument that strong cultures result in high performance rests first
and foremost on the idea that the strategy formulation process can identify
a particular culture as being the key to improved organisational perform-
ance. This being the case, provided this corporate culture is transmitted to
organisational members and they accept it, high performance should result.
The argument also depends on certain assumptions about the link between
shared culture and individual performance. The key factor here is commit-
ment. It is assumed that if individuals endorse the corporate culture, this
will result in employee commitment, and this will, in turn, ensure high
performance.
Clearly, the above line of argument falls down if the identified corpo-
rate strategy and associated culture are not actually the optimal ones for
the organisation. In this case, a strong culture could actually be counter-
productive, since it could result in everyone pulling hard in the wrong
direction. Also, the logic of the argument depends on the assumption that
it is actually possible to change organisational culture at will. This may in
fact not be the case. If everyone has common values, this could be another
way of saying that there is a dearth of diversity of viewpoints in the organi-
sation. This may, in turn, result in a lack of flexibility in reacting to changed
circumstances. Finally, even if strong cultures result in high commitment
levels, the proposed relationship between performance and commitment has
not actually been unequivocally demonstrated by systematic research.
HRM in Action
1 Has the quality strategy been carefully thought through as part of an overall
HRM/business strategy? Or is it a quick fix solution?
2 Is the organisation clear about what is meant by the term ‘strong culture’?
3 What kind of culture exists at present?
4 What about sub-cultures?
5 Why does the organisation believe that culture change is the answer to its
problems?
6 What exactly are its problems anyway?
7 Have the unions been informed of the organisation’s intentions? How have
they reacted?
8 Have the workforce in general been informed? What has been the initial
reaction?
9 Which customers are we talking about when we talk about quality? External
customers? Internal customers? Or what?
10 How much does the organisation think it will need to invest in terms of
time and money to achieve the desired objective?
1 True culture change is very difficult to manage and may not be achievable.
2 However, employees may, as a result of training or other interventions,
change their behaviour in the desired direction without changing their
underlying values. This would still be useful for the organisation.
3 Any change may only last for a limited period and may require further
interventions to maintain it.
4 It might not be a good idea to push the idea of shared values too far. A
little diversity can be a counterbalance to the kind of rigidity in thinking
which can be a feature of overly strong cultures.
5 Customer satisfaction should include internal customers. It is best to create
a quality culture which applies to everything the organisation does.
Module 4
True/False Statements
4.1 Performance requirements can be specified either in terms of end results (i.e.
desired organisational outcomes, such as profit) or in terms of the processes
which are assumed to lead to these outcomes. An example of the latter
might be the commitment level of employees, based on the assumption that
high commitment leads to high performance. Neither of these is inherently
better than the other, although process criteria do depend on assumptions
about the link between the criteria and organisational outcomes.
Taking end results criteria first, one of these might be bottom line profit.
One limitation of this criterion is the tendency to focus on the short term.
At the end of the day, long-term viability may be more important than
profits over a short period. Dividends to shareholders could be another
end results criterion. This also carries with it the danger of focusing on
the short term. Furthermore, shareholders are not the only stakeholders in
organisations and concentration on dividends excludes other stakeholders
from the equation. Market share could be used as a criterion. However,
having a large market share might not always be a good thing from the
point of view of the long-term health of the organisation if, for example,
high market penetration had been achieved at the cost of having a very
small product range. Even using company growth as a criterion has its
limitations, since organisations which become too large can end up being
highly bureaucratic, leading to inflexibility and an inability to respond
quickly to changing circumstances.
There are a number of possible process criteria of performance at the organ-
isational level. One of these is the extent to which employees demonstrate
high commitment. The problem with this criterion is that it makes assump-
tions about the relationship between commitment and performance which
have not been unequivocally established. Other possible process criteria
include the extent to which the organisation has a strong culture, the level
of job satisfaction of the workforce, and the degree to which employees
are empowered. These all have the same limitation as commitment as a
criterion, i.e. their value is dependent on the extent to which assumptions
about their relationship to performance are true in practice.
4.2 The use of traits to describe the human qualities needed to perform jobs to
a high standard was highly popular for a number of years. The rationale for
this was the idea that traits were the source of many of the job behaviours
which were believed to be necessary for effective performance at work. To
take just one example by way of illustration, meeting deadlines, working
extra hours if necessary, putting in extra effort, and a host of other desirable
behaviours, could all be assumed to be a result of the underlying trait of
conscientiousness.
Despite their intuitive appeal, the use of traits in practice proved to be prob-
lematic in a number of ways and as a consequence the popularity of this
approach is in decline. One of the difficulties arose because of the fact that
traits are inferred, rather than directly observed. Since different managers
rarely used precisely the same information to infer the existence of a par-
ticular trait, there tended to be a lack of consistency among the managers.
Often traits were poorly defined, leading to further inconsistencies amongst
the managers using them. Ultimately, what is of interest in this context is
actual observable performance. However, only rarely was the link between
particular traits and specific aspects of performance explicitly spelled out, so
that individual managers were left to their own devices to make this crucial
link. Given the inferential nature of traits, and the frequent lack of proper
definitions of what exactly constituted each trait, it is not surprising that
there were often serious problems when it came to measuring them. Many
important areas of work activity require the person to possess a repertoire
HRM in Action
Situation One
Since the client wants a comprehensive analysis, it is recommended that
more than one method of job analysis is used. As there are over 100 junior
managers in the organisation, a questionnaire method would be feasible
and cost effective. A questionnaire could be designed for the purpose of
the analysis, or one could be bought off the shelf. For example, the Work
Profiling System can be used for all types of managerial position. Diaries,
the conference method, and observational approaches would all be suitable
techniques to use in addition to questionnaires.
Situation Two
The number of individuals is small, ruling out a questionnaire approach.
In any case, the education level of the job holders would probably rule this
out as the first option. With such small numbers interviews might be the
best method. Everyone in the organisation could be interviewed, including
management. Given that much of the work is likely to be carried out some
considerable height above ground level, work participation by the analyst is
not recommended! In view of the likely importance of safety considerations
in this job, the use of critical incidents might be useful for drawing out
examples of good and bad performance in this area. It is unlikely that this
particular occupational group would respond well to being asked to keep
diaries.
Situation Three
This client seems to be thinking in terms of using traits to specify perform-
ance requirements. He should be advised of the difficulties this is likely
to create and urged to adopt a behavioural approach, possibly within a
competency framework. Given the critical nature of the sales role in this
company, it would be important to make the job analysis as comprehensive
as possible. Therefore, we should consider using several different job analy-
sis techniques. Since the sales force spend most of its time out of the office,
their managers will have limited contact with it, particularly with respect
to the all important area of interactions with customers. Consequently, they
will not be able to supply much useful information for the job analysis.
They may be able to tell us who generates most business, but we really
need to know why this is the case. Interviews with the salespeople would
be useful, especially if they were asked to provide examples of particularly
successful and unsuccessful sales episodes. Work diaries could also be valu-
able here. If successful and less successful salespersons could be identified,
observational techniques could be used to gain insights into precisely how
sales are made (or not made as the case may be). As salespersons, they are
likely to be an articulate group which would point to the use of a series of
brainstorming sessions using a conference type method. No information is
provided about the size of the sales force. This would be required before a
final decision could be taken about which job analysis methods should be
used.
Situation Four
All of the traditional job analysis methods are somewhat limited here for
two reasons. First, functional flexibility implies the need to identify generic
qualities, whereas job analysis has usually focused on job specific qualities.
Second, if the organisation is constantly changing, we need to predict what
new competencies will be required in the future. As you know, traditional
job analysis is not really geared up to do this. Of course some methods
are likely to be more limited than others in this respect. We might, for
example, want to reject critical incident methods for this reason. On the
other hand, we know that any mistakes these managers make can have
Module 5
True/False Statements
5.1 Biodata is a system which is used for pre-screening applicants based on the
biographical information contained in specially designed application forms.
The information can be scored objectively and the process is less time-
consuming than screening conventional application forms. The technique is
most useful when large numbers of applicants have to be dealt with.
In terms of Muchinsky’s (1986) criteria for evaluating the usefulness of a
selection device, evidence from meta analysis indicates that biodata can
be reasonably valid. However, there is a question mark over its fairness.
Because of the way in which the weightings for the scoring key are derived,
it is possible for biodata to discriminate against, for example, particular eth-
nic groups without the selector being aware of the fact. Biodata is expensive
to set up because of the time-consuming nature of the procedure used to
establish the weightings. However, once this has been done, applicants can
be screened much more quickly than would be the case with conventional
application forms, resulting in cost savings. The applicability of the method
is limited by the high set up costs and it is only really suitable where the
volume of applicants is large.
5.2 Research indicates that references generally have low validity (Robertson
and Smith, 1989). However, they have high applicability and relatively low
costs. There is little research evidence on their fairness.
One factor which could affect their usefulness is the format in which they
are presented to the referee. This is commonly in the form of an open-
ended request for information in the form of a letter. However, the use of
a questionnaire format where the reviewer is asked to rate the person on a
series of numerical scales could result in more useful information, at least
in some circumstances. In the first place, the referee could be asked to rate
a set of competencies which have previously been identified as essential
for the job. Second, the use of a numerical scoring system should make it
easier to compare one candidate with another. Also, a questionnaire takes
less time to complete than an open letter and thus referees are more likely
to respond to the request.
The stage in the selection process at which references are sent out is also
important. Many organisations only send them out at a late stage in the
process, such as when an offer is about to be made. This means that
their ability to provide additional information for the interviewer before the
interview takes place is lost.
The question of who provides the information is also important here. For
example, if the referee is a personal friend of the candidate this could obvi-
ously result in an overly positive reference. Providing glowing references
can also be a way of off-loading a less effective employee on some other
unsuspecting organisation. Careful selection of the referee is clearly yet
another factor which is important if the usefulness of references is to be
maximised.
5.3 According to the selection paradigm, the ideal selection procedure goes
through four stages. These are: job analysis; deciding which assessment
tools to use; making recruitment decisions; and validation procedures. Vali-
dation is crucially important because, whichever selection tools are chosen,
there is no way of being sure that they will actually work. Validation is
the process which tells the selector how well a particular measuring tool
actually works in practice.
Reliability, which is expressed as a correlation coefficient, is a measure
of the extent to which any measuring instrument, including a selection
device, is consistent. Inter-rater reliability measures the extent to which
different individuals are in agreement with each other in their assessment
of candidates. An example here might be the degree of agreement between
two interviewers in their evaluation of a group of candidates. Test-retest
reliability refers to the extent to which there is consistency in the measure
over time. Thus, if a group of candidates were interviewed on two separate
occasions and were given similar scores each time, this would indicate high
test-retest reliability.
Validity, which is also expressed as a correlation, estimates the extent to
which the selection tool actually measures what it is supposed to. To con-
tinue with the example of the interview, this is meant to measure potential
job performance. Consequently, an interview would be deemed to be valid
if there was a high correlation between interview ratings and subsequent job
performance. This example illustrates what is known as predictive validity
in which the candidates are tested and their performance is assessed on a
later occasion after they have begun working in the organisation. In some
circumstances the selection test can be given to existing employees and their
job performance is assessed at the same time. This is known as concurrent
validity.
5.4 The first and most important of Muchinsky’s four factors which determine
the usefulness of selection devices is validity. To be of any value at all, a
selection tool must have acceptable validity. Without this, the remaining
criteria are essentially irrelevant. Assuming there is adequate validity, the
second factor is cost. Other things being equal, an inexpensive selection tool
is to be preferred to an expensive one. Costs here include managers’ time
in carrying out the selection in addition to direct financial costs. Third, tests
should be fair and should not discriminate against individuals on grounds
of ethnic background, race, sex, or any other quality which is not relevant for
job performance. Quite apart from obvious ethical and legal considerations
here, unfair selection is inefficient since it leads to the situation where the
candidate(s) who would perform best in the job could be rejected in favour
of less able individuals. Finally, applicability refers to the extent to which
the selection device can be used for a wide variety of jobs. Again, other
things being equal, devices with wide applicability are more useful than
ones with narrow applicability.
Once again, it should be emphasised that these four factors are not of equal
importance. As mentioned above, the most important of the four is validity.
Many organisations would also see fairness as being very important, with
cost and applicability often regarded as less critical.
HRM in Action
Your task was to write a preliminary report about your organisation’s selection
procedure, based on the contents of a letter sent to you by the recruitment
manager. A number of important issues are contained in the letter which could
be the substance of the report. These include the following:
1 The statistics presented raise important issues about the fairness of the
selection system. More females are eliminated at the initial screening stage
and an investigation should be conducted to ensure that there is no bias
here. Conversely, women do better at interview and this could possibly
indicate a bias in the opposite direction. It should be emphasised that we
do not know that there is unfair discrimination here, since those females
who are attracted to the bank might just happen to be more able than their
male counterparts, or vice versa. Consequently an investigation is called
for.
2 Given the large number of applicants shown in the statistics, it might be
worth considering some sort of biodata approach for the screening stage.
This would cut the time needed to screen applicants significantly and it
might also prove to be more valid then what you are doing at present. It
should be noted, however, that biodata has the potential to be discriminatory
and this would need to be checked out carefully before we actually used
biodata to select people.
3 You say that the later stages of selection are more important than the early
stages. I know of no research which has shown this to be the case. After
all, in your final selection you can only choose from amongst those who are
left and if you have eliminated the best people through poor pre-selection,
it makes little difference how good your final selection is.
4 It is questionable whether choosing interviewers on the basis of them being
‘willing helpers’ is really the best way to proceed. Surely we should be
thinking more in terms of who are best able to do the job.
5 Similarly, how do you know that experience actually makes someone a
better interviewer? This may be true, but we do not know that it is the case.
6 The way you have established the qualities needed in the candidates is a
cause for concern. There seems to have been no systematic job analysis
which is really essential if selection is to be successful. Also, the qualities
you do list are not expressed as behaviours or competencies. It is now
pretty well established that performance requirements are better expressed
as necessary behaviours than in trait type terms as you seem to have done.
7 You mention your concern that some people misled your interviewers about
certain qualities they claimed to possess which you were easily able to
remedy by training. The real issue here is why you were selecting people
against qualities which are easily developed in training. Selection should
really be focused on abilities which cannot be learned. If you can easily
train someone to do something then you hardly need to waste time selecting
candidates for that quality.
8 It is true that structured interviews are much more likely to be valid than
unstructured ones. However, what you have described is not a structured
interview in the technical sense. Structured interviews require behavioural
job analysis, consistently applied job related questions, and behaviour based
rating scales. You do not mention any of these as features of your interviews.
I strongly recommend that we adopt a proper structured interview approach.
9 You talk about your interviewers thinking up scenarios which they would
ask candidates to respond to. What technique was used to develop the
scenarios? Did they use the critical incident method?
10 If you really want to check out how well your interviews are actually
working you need to carry out a validation study – or at least refer to the
findings from meta analysis. That is what your professor will tell you if he
knows what he is talking about.
11 Finally, you should be aware that there are other selection devices which
we should consider using in addition to the interview, such as psychometric
tests, assessment centres, and the like.
Module 6
True/False Statements
6.2 There are different ways in which information from appraisals can be
recorded. The best method in any situation will depend on a number
of factors, such as the number of individuals to be appraised, or the pur-
pose of the appraisal system. Where the numbers involved are small a
simple narrative report from the appraiser may suffice. As the number of
individuals to be appraised becomes larger, the use of some form of rating
system is more likely to be the preferred option. One approach is to use a
checklist of competencies relevant to the job in question. The appraiser can
then indicate which of these are possessed by the appraisee. By means of
weighted checklists, the fact that some competencies are more critical than
others can be taken into account.
One of the difficulties with checklists is the fact that they dichotomise
competencies as being either present or absent, whereas many behaviours
are more appropriately seen as being continuous variables. Rating scales
attempt to get around this problem by asking appraisers to rate the extent to
which the appraisee possesses the qualities being assessed. Unfortunately,
traditional rating scales are prone to a number of rater errors, including
leniency, central tendency, and the halo effect. Behaviourally anchored rating
scales (BARS) can reduce some of these effects. This is achieved by giving
raters behavioural examples, known as anchors, illustrating how each scale
should be used. The drawback of the BARS approach is the time it takes to
develop the anchors. Another attempt to reduce rating errors is by the use
6.4 The underlying premise behind 360-degree appraisal is the belief that the
individual benefits from receiving as much feedback as possible about his
performance. This means that appraisal information should come from
as many sources as possible – ideally from every significant person the
individual interacts with, be it inside or outside the organisation. The major
benefit of the approach is the comprehensive feedback the person receives
covering all aspects of performance. Furthermore, because the information
comes from many sources it is more difficult for the appraisee to refuse to
accept it. Also, since the evaluations come from many sources, management
can have greater confidence in their authenticity than would be the case
if they only came from a single source (provided of course that there was
some agreement amongst the various appraisers).
One of the limitations of 360-degree appraisal is its time-consuming nature
and the difficulties of processing the large amount of information collected.
Also, great care has to be taken to protect the anonymity of subordinates
providing feedback to their superiors. It is also important, with subordi-
nate appraisers in particular, that training is given in the need to provide
constructive, rather than destructive, criticism. Finally, 360-degree appraisal
can only really be used for certain purposes. Its value in terms of feed-
back is undisputed. However, other aspects of appraisal such as target
setting clearly require much more in addition to the written feedback which
typically results from 360-degree appraisal systems.
HRM in Action
Your task was to review the reports sent to you outlining the performance
management systems in the three divisions of the organisation. You were also
required to put forward recommendations for a single, organisation-wide system
in the light of your analysis of the reports.
The following are some of the points you might have made in your report.
Taking the Industrial Chemicals Division first, they do not actually appear
to have a performance management system, or even anything resembling a
performance appraisal system. There do not seem to be any clear objectives or
expected outcomes of the so-called appraisal. Nothing is done to a specified
time scale, which is a basic feature of all such systems. There is nothing laid
down as to what is to be measured. Simply stating that the manager knows best
is no excuse for not establishing what is to be appraised by some systematic
method, such as job analysis. Without a proper record of the appraisal interview
– assuming it actually takes place – there is no way of knowing what has
been agreed between both parties. Nor can there be any check that performance
targets have been met or that undertakings to provide training and development
for the appraisee have been fulfilled. Informality and friendliness may be a good
thing, but they are not a substitute for having proper management systems in
place.
Our Agricultural Division at least seems to have some kind of system in place,
although from their report they do not seem to have been well advised by their
consultants. The use of an MCI competency model seems misplaced in this
context. MCI competencies are concerned with minimum standards, whereas
we presumably are much more concerned with excellence in performance. Also,
the MCI approach focuses on generic competencies, to the neglect of the kind
of organisation-specific competencies which are likely to be important to us.
They have attempted to combine the training and reward allocation functions
within the one appraisal interview, which might well lead to problems in the
future if it has not already done so. Acting simultaneously as judge and helper
is a difficult balancing act and it is doubtful if many appraisers can carry it off
successfully. Although they seem to have adopted some of the techniques used
in performance management, there is little sign of the integrated approach which
is the essence of performance management. Much of what is done seems to be
ad hoc in nature and sometimes dependent on the initiative of the employee.
Thus, people have to ask for training. People are rotated around jobs to prevent
them getting bored, rather than as part of an overall plan to develop them. And
so on.
Preliminary Recommendations
Module 7
True/False Statements
7.1 The term training content refers to the detailed specification of what the
person is required to learn on a training programme. This can be specified
in different ways, depending on the objectives of the course. For example,
it could be defined in terms of knowledge or in terms of what delegates
need to be able to do at the end of the programme. Broad definitions of
what is required, such as ‘interviewing skills’ are usually inadequate since
they tell us little about what should actually be included in the training. It
is therefore necessary to break down broad skills or overall tasks into their
specific components.
One method for achieving this is hierarchical task analysis (HTA) devised
by Annette et al. (1971). This technique works best when the tasks to
be performed are clear and unambiguous. It begins by listing the main
operations to be performed in whatever it is which has to be learned. These
broad tasks are then broken down into smaller components which are then
sub-divided further. This process of sub-division can be carried out several
times, so that the tasks are broken down into very fine detail. Clearly, it
is necessary to have a system for deciding when no further sub-division is
necessary. This is based on the joint operation of two factors: the difficulty
of the task; and the cost of making a mistake in carrying out the task.
If the operation is difficult in the sense that an untrained person would
be unlikely to carry it out successfully, then it is broken down further.
Likewise, if the cost of making an error is high, the operation should be
further sub-divided.
7.2 There are a number of reasons for suggesting that this is broadly true. In the
first place, the focus of much of HRM strategic thinking is to find ways of
maximising the utilisation of human resources in the organisation. Increas-
ing the individual’s capabilities through training and development is clearly
one way of enhancing his or her potential contribution to the organisation.
Core employees often have a crucial role in the organisation and, given
this fact and the high demands placed on them, considerable investment in
their training and development is necessary if they are to carry out their
roles to the standard required. New forms of work organisation, such as
self-managed teams, make additional demands on employees. Extensive
training is often needed before they can cope with these successfully. Train-
ing is a key element in ensuring that individuals can adjust successfully to
the constant changes which characterise many modern organisations. Many
HRM strategies require fundamental changes in organisational culture and
training is one of the main methods used to induce culture change. Training
enhances a person’s capabilities and this is likely to have a positive effect on
employee motivation and possibly also the much sought after organisational
commitment. Finally, many organisations rely heavily on performance man-
agement systems for the successful implementation of their strategies, and
training and development are key elements in these systems.
7.3 Training needs can be analysed at three levels. At the organisational level,
training needs are mainly determined by the organisation’s HR strategy.
Given the HR strategy, what do individuals need to be able to do? If
an organisational competency analysis has been carried out, this should
highlight the gaps between what currently exists and what is required in
the light of HR strategic objectives. The training effort can then be directed
at areas where the gaps are widest. When training needs are analysed at
this level, the subsequent training would typically be carried out on an
organisation-wide basis.
Training needs can also be analysed at the work role level. A basic tool for
analysing needs at this level would be job analysis. The notion here is that
training needs will be different depending on the work role. Salespersons
will have different needs from production engineers, whose requirements
will in turn be different from those of receptionists. In this case train-
ing would be organised around work roles, rather than across the whole
organisation.
Within any given work role, performance will vary from one individual to
another. Consequently, training needs analysis can also be carried out at
the individual level. One important source of information here is perform-
ance appraisal reports. In this case, training would be organised around
individual needs, rather than on a work role or organisation-wide basis.
So far we have suggested that training needs analysis can be carried out by
utilising information already available from organisational competency anal-
ysis, job analysis, or performance appraisal. It is also possible to carry out
a dedicated training needs analysis by systematic collection of information
solely for that purpose. This could, for example, be done by carrying out
in-depth interviews with job holders and their supervisors about training
needs. This qualitative data could then be used to produce a questionnaire
on training needs which would then be circulated more widely to gen-
erate information of a quantitative nature. While this approach is clearly
more time-consuming than utilising existing information, it does have the
advantage of being directly focused on the issue of training.
HRM in Action
Several learning principles seem to be operating here. While there is some pas-
sive learning in the form of listening to lectures, the major part of the course
involves active participation by delegates, rather than passive reception of infor-
mation. The emphasis on active learning is a sound principle on which to base
the course. Each person receives knowledge of results in the form of feedback on
his performance from observing the video, from the trainer, and perhaps from
other delegates. Positive and negative rewards operate in terms of praise for
examples of good interviewing technique and constructive criticism when there
are instances of poor interview technique. Once again these are sound learning
principles. Behaviour modelling (another sound learning principle) can clearly
occur, since delegates, by watching the video and listening to the trainer’s com-
ments, can observe examples of both good and poor interviewing technique. The
knowledge that other delegates are observing one’s performance, and the fact
that the whole process is being recorded on videotape, should provide a motiva-
tion to succeed. The existence of a pass-fail criterion should certainly ensure that
the training provides a challenge to the individuals and could further enhance
the motivational properties of the programme. Overall, the proposed approach
seems to be based on sound learning principles.
Module 8
True/False Statements
8.2 Work role changes can occur either within a single organisation, or they can
involve the individual moving from one organisation to another. A number
of factors have contributed to the increased requirement for such changes
in recent times. First, the globalisation of markets and the accompanying
expansion of organisations across different countries and cultures, has meant
that managers are required to be much more mobile than in the past. Often
these geographical moves also involve changes in work role. The processes
of downsizing and de-layering have meant that large numbers of employees
have found themselves having to find jobs with other organisations. The
adoption of new work practices such as functional flexibility require radical
changes to traditional work roles, as does the introduction of self-managed
teams. Modern organisations often find themselves having constantly to
adapt and change in order to survive. These changes frequently require the
redefinition of work roles for a number of employees.
8.3 Fast track schemes attempt to identify highly talented individuals early in
their careers, either at the selection stage, or soon after they have joined
the organisation. The individuals are then given enhanced training and
development with a view to moving them rapidly up the organisational
hierarchy. Although the logic behind the concept is reasonable – take the
best people and give them special treatment so that they can be groomed for
senior positions – the evidence for their success is largely anecdotal. Even
when fast track individuals do progress rapidly, this may not always be
for the reasons put forward. For example, simply labelling a person as fast
track may result in managers assuming that they are talented, regardless
of their true ability. Also, perhaps even individuals who are not especially
able would rise rapidly up the organisation if given enhanced development
opportunities. Finally, there is also the risk of demotivating those who are
not selected for the fast track.
HRM in Action
Your first task was to indicate the information you would seek to obtain in order
to evaluate the extent of the problem and the reasons for its occurrence. The
following are examples of appropriate questions which could be asked.
1 What is the proportion of male and female managers at each level of the
hierarchy? Is there a glass ceiling effect, with similar proportions of men
and women in promoted positions up to a certain level, but with male
domination of the most senior positions? The answers to these questions
should provide the basic data on the extent of the problem.
2 Are broadly the same numbers of males and females recruited each year?
You would need this information going back over a number of years. If
the numbers are unequal and favoured men, this could at least partly
explain the figures. If more men are recruited, one might expect more to
be promoted, since there are more of them to choose from. However, if
this were so, it would then be necessary to explore whether the recruitment
was fair. For example do the proportion recruited match the proportion
applying? If not, why not?
3 If the organisation is male dominated, to what extent are informal male
networks in operation? The existence of these could help men achieve
promotion to the detriment of women.
4 What criteria are adopted for sending people on external management
courses? Do the criteria ensure that women get their fair share of opportu-
nities to attend such programmes?
5 How does the organisation support women with their family responsibilities.
Is there a crèche or similar facility for helping with child minding? Is there
a system for allowing women to take a career break? Does promotion
depend on geographical mobility and, if so, what steps are taken to ensure
that women who have young children do not lose out because of lack of
mobility?
6 Is there any evidence from appraisal records, or from any other source, that
the abilities of existing female managers differ in any way from those of
their male counterparts in ways which are related to promotion? If this is
so, the reasons for these differences would have to be investigated.
7 Does the organisation have a male dominated culture, and if so has it
affected attitudes towards the suitability of women for promotion?
Module 9
True/False Statements
9.1 False. 9.5 False. 9.9 True. 9.13 True. 9.17 False.
9.2 True. 9.6 True. 9.10 False. 9.14 False. 9.18 True.
9.3 True. 9.7 False. 9.11 False. 9.15 True. 9.19 True.
9.4 False. 9.8 False. 9.12 True. 9.16 False. 9.20 True.
9.1 Fox (1974) put forward three frames of reference which represent different
approaches to employee relations. According to Fox, these not only influence
employee relations, but they can also have an impact on management
styles. The first approach of these is the unitarist approach. The underlying
assumption here is that in the end of the day employers and employees share
the same common interest in the success of the organisation. Because of this,
conflict between these two parties is not inevitable and it is possible for both
to work together harmoniously. The pluralist approach is different insofar as
employers and employees are regarded as having different interests and, as
a consequence, conflict is unavoidable. However, according to the pluralist
position, conflict can be contained and managed successfully. This can be
achieved by institutionalising the conflict. This can be done by putting in
place systems that allow for collective interactions between employers and
employees.
The radical position is different again. It is similar to the pluralist posi-
tion in that it regards conflict as inevitable but it is different because it
regards conflict as much more deep rooted. The radical position takes the
Marxist view that conflict in organisations is symptomatic of a wider class
and power struggle in society. These frames of reference are important
for employee relations because they affect the approach that is taken to
employee relations. This can be illustrated with reference to the implica-
tions of the three positions for the role of unions in organisations. From
a pluralist perspective, unionisation can offers benefits to the organisation.
Since the goal is to manage the inevitable conflict which arises because the
interests of employees differ from those of employers, it is useful to have an
appropriate body to represent the interests of the former collectively. This
is of course the role of unions in organisations. Turning to the radical posi-
tion, unionisation would probably be even more strongly favoured, since it
is they who would defend the employees interests in the power struggle
with employers. Of course in this case the objective would not be to make
the conflict manageable as such, since cooperative relationship is not seen
as feasible in the face of such deep-rooted conflict. Turning to the unitarist
position, the advantages of unionisation are not so immediately obvious,
since the interests of employers and employees are seen as being the same.
According to this view, if there is no conflict, employees do not need unions
to defend their interests. Of course this does not mean that unionisation is
incompatible with a unitarist position. The advantages of a union presence
are simply less clear-cut in this case.
9.3 6 In the past, the reactive approach to the management of psychological well-
being at work has typically been favoured by personnel management. From
this perspective, the personnel manager’s role is to react to any situation
which endangers the psychological health of employees as and when it is
brought to his attention. In another words, there is no active attempt to
identify threats to well-being. It is simply a case of waiting for problems
to crop up. This puts the onus very much on individuals to come forward
with information about threats to their psychological well-being, especially
since nowadays the role of unions, who in the past might have acted on
their behalf, is much reduced. Obviously personnel managers should react
to problems when they crop up, but a pro-active approach argues that
they should do more than this. After all, individuals may not have much
insight into the causes of any feelings of distress they may have. Even
when they do, they might not always be willing to come forward. Proactive
approaches seek to take the initiate by setting up systems to investigate
and monitor threats to the psychological well-being of the workforce, rather
than just waiting for problems to emerge. In the case of stress for example,
one of the key causes of psychological ill effects in organisations, such a
proactive approach might involve questionnaire surveys designed to assess
stress and its effects on employees. Another possibility would be to conduct
interviews with individuals about the stresses they were encountering in
their jobs. The next stage with a pro-active approach could be to initiate
steps to reduce the problems identified. One way to achieve this might
be to reduce or eliminate the sources of stress. For example, if it turned
out that empowerment was stressful for individuals, it might be possible
to reorganise work roles in order to reduce the amount of empowerment.
Of course in some circumstances the organisation might take the view that
it is not possible to reduce the level of stress. In the above example an
organisation might take the view that empowerment, although stressful,
was essential in order to maximise the utilisation of its human resources.
An alternative way to reduce the threat to psychological well-being might
be to accept the level of stress as given and to provide employees with the
means to cope more effectively with it. Possible ways to enhance coping
might include appropriate training or counselling programmes. Of course
stress reduction improving coping ability are not mutually exclusive and
organisations could use a combination of both in the management of stress.
HRM in Action
it might be a good idea to begin your response by pointing out that, while it is
true that unions are less common and less powerful than in the past, a number
of organisations have managed to combine modern HRM practices and union-
isation successfully. Consequently, one should not really rule out recognition
on these grounds. Developing this theme, it would be valuable to explain that
while the finance and Production managers are to some extent correct in their
views, insofar as unions have often been confrontational in the past especially
with respect to wage issues, this is much less the case these days. You might
further point out that management can dictate the agenda much more than in
the past with respect to the union’s role in the organisation and partnership,
rather than confrontation, could well become the norm in future. The chief
executive is worried about a loss of his decision-making prerogative and this is
certainly a danger. But this fear is probably exaggerated in to-day’s world of
weakened unions. In any case, any potential loss of decision-making autonomy
must be balanced against possible gains from having employee feel that they
are part of the decision-making process. This brings us to the chief executive’s
last point. A diplomatic consultant might ask the management team to clarify
exactly what they mean by participation in the context of their organisation.
It might be useful to follow this with a short discussion of the various forms
participation can take, while simultaneously pointing out that there is evidence
that certain types of participation can have beneficial effects.
The production manager’s argument that the organisation is doing ‘pretty
well’ and does not need to change flies in the face of much of HR thinking
which suggests that continuous change and improvement is essential to remain
competitive. This is not to say that this company should automatically recognise
unions, but simply that it should be aware of the need for continuous improve-
ment, and should assess the proposal in this light. The production manager also
implies that formal grievance procedures are unnecessary. As a consultant who
has knowledge of modern HRM thinking, you should be well able to summarise
the various arguments in favour of formal grievance procedures. It might be
useful at this stage to put your discussion of grievance procedures in a wider
context. As we saw in the module, unions provide a voice for the collective inter-
ests of their members with reference to a variety of issues, of which grievance
is just one. Consequently, if they decide to stay union-free, they should have
alternative arrangements in place, not just with respect to grievances, but also to
allow employees an appropriate voice in other matters of importance to them.
As one might expect, the safety engineer is aware both of the valuable role
unions played in safety in the past and of their usefulness in keeping manage-
ment ‘on their toe’ in this respect. However, it would be worth exploring with
her how much she is aware of current concerns nowadays about psychological
well-being at work. Does she realise that legal provisions are less comprehen-
sive when it comes to psychological well-being? One also wonders here to what
extent the organisation’s approach to employee health is reactive, rather than
pro-active.
The personnel manager appears to appreciate that unions have a role in
looking after employees’ interests. However, as the companies ‘expert’ in these
matters one would have hoped that he would have spelled out what this
role is in a little more detail for his colleagues. In these circumstances this
job really falls on you, the consultant. Your review ought to include not just
specific activities such as pay bargaining, grievances and the like, but also
a union’s more general role as a communication channel generally between
employees and management. You could also take the opportunity here, if you
have not already done so to summarise the advantages and disadvantages of
union recognition. (Alternatively you could deal with this at the end of your
consultation, by way of summary.). You should also question the personnel
manager’s statement that only the unions can look after employee’s issues.
(Diplomatically of course!) The success a number of union-free organisations
have had putting in place alternative employee voice systems testifies to this.
The personnel manager is also aware of the dangers of the adverse effects on
employees of denying their apparent desire to become unionised. But this raises
a number of questions. First of all do we know how widespread this desire is?
Are we talking about a few politically motivated individuals or is this the view
of the majority of employees? What facts has the personnel manager gathered on
this? We need hard facts here. The statement that there are ‘rumours’ that ‘quite
a few’ workers want this change if far to imprecise for our present purposes.
Second, mention is made of employee commitment to the organisation’s future
plans. What are these plans? What exactly does the personnel manager mean by
‘greater flexibility’? What systems are currently in place to encourage employee
involvement in the organisation generally? Of course we are now touching
on the essential nature of the organisation’s employee relations policies and
practices and the extent to which they are involvement focused. At first glance
this looks as if you are straying beyond your brief as a consultant, which is
to advise on union recognition. This is not really the case however, since the
decision to recognise a union or otherwise should be seen not only context of
an organisation’s employee relation’s policies, but also in relation to the culture
of the organisation as a whole.
Contents
Examination One A2/1
Examination Two A2/13
This section contains two practice final examinations with solutions. Each exam
is in two sections:
Examination One
5 Which of the following is a benefit of team working, from the point of view
of individual team members?
A The responsibility for all decision making is allocated to the team leader
B Because the work is completed more quickly, there is the opportunity
for more free time
C Group members are able to give each other mutual support
D Team working allows individuals to specialise in what they do best
7 Which of the following is true when interview methods of job analysis are
used?
A The analyst must only interview job holders
B It is less time-consuming for the analyst than questionnaire methods
C Because the interview method is so comprehensive there is little point
in using any other job analysis methods in addition to it
D The analyst obtains qualitative information about the job
18 According to the CRAMP taxonomy, which of the four options below would
describe the the kind of learning needed to pass the Distance Learning MBA
examination in human resource management?
A Feedback
B Reflex learning
C Attitude development
D Comprehension
23 According to Nicholson and West’s (1988) work role transition theory, which
of the following helps individuals to adjust during the preparation stage?
A Social support from colleagues
B A realistic job preview
C Project work
D An active information-seeking strategy
25 According to Herriot, when employees believe that the organisation has not
delivered its part of the psychological contract, they feel:
A Relieved
B A sense of unfairness
C Low self-esteem
D Intolerance
1 What are the similarities and differences between traditional personnel man-
agement and human resource management?
2 Describe the main types of workforce flexibility. What are the advantages
and disadvantages of flexibility from the organisation’s point of view?
both the importance placed on a particular activity and the way it is carried
out. For example, take the field of selection. If employee commitment is
placed high on the agenda, selection criteria may have to be modified to put
greater emphasis on attitudinal qualities than hitherto. Suppose a strategic
decision was taken to place high priority on the organisation’s ability to
change rapidly in the face of competitive pressures. The ability to adjust
to change could subsequently become an important personal quality in job
applicants. In the field of training, a strategic decision to install self-managed
teams might mean that greater priority might need to be attached to training
than had hitherto been the case. To take a rather different example, Guest
has argued that the individualistic philosophy of HRM thinking results in a
very different approach to industrial relations from that traditionally taken
by personnel management.
In conclusion, while HRM and traditional personnel management do indeed
have much in common, they also differ in a number of ways which have
profound implications for the way in which people are managed in organi-
sations.
would be the use of annual hours contracts in which the total hours to be
worked over a certain period is fixed, but when they are actually worked
can be varied according to circumstances. Once again, the advantages of
temporal flexibility for the organisation are clear. Quite simply, labour need
only be paid for when it is needed. Shortages of labour at peak times can
be avoided, as can over supply of labour during less busy periods.
Wage flexibility allows the organisation the scope to vary the way in which
individuals are paid in line with its objectives. For example, in some cir-
cumstances it might make sense to introduce performance related pay as
an incentive to greater effort and enhanced performance. In other circum-
stances some other form of remuneration may be more appropriate.
Before looking in a little more detail at the advantages and disadvantages
of flexibility, it is perhaps worth referring to the distinction between core
and peripheral workers, as drawn by Atkinson in his theory of the flexible
firm. Core workers are likely to be particularly valued by the organisation.
Considerable sums are likely to have been invested in their training, they are
often multi-skilled, and they will probably be operating under conditions
of functional flexibility. They have relatively high security of employment,
and typically have reasonable career opportunities with the organisation.
Peripheral workers are less central to the organisation’s requirements. They
tend to have little job security and are not seen as having a career in
the organisation. It is this group which allows the operation of numerical
flexibility in Atkinson’s model. Considering the advantages of flexibility
first, it should ensure that the organisation has a more easily controlled and
managed workforce. It should, in theory at least, be possible to obtain high
commitment from core employees, given the investment in their training
and the career opportunities offered to them. The existence of the peripheral
workforce gives the organisation the ability to hire and fire individuals
easily at relatively low cost. In addition, high level skills can be bought in
as needed in the form of part-time peripheral workers, without incurring
expensive employment liabilities. There may also be cost savings, since
part-time workers are traditionally paid relatively low wage rates. Finally,
performance-related pay could enhance motivation if properly operated. In
addition to the potential advantages of flexibility, there is also a number
of potential disadvantages of this approach. Multi-skilling carries with it
the risk that the organisation may leave itself short of specialised expertise.
Peripheral workers may lack commitment and this could adversely affect
their performance. Peripheral workers may also lack the necessary training
to do their jobs to a high standard. The high turnover of the peripheral
group means that high recruitment costs are effectively built into the system.
very difficult to carry out successfully, and in view of this fact, training for
interviewers is essential. It is best not to rely purely on the judgement of
a single individual, such as the person’s immediate boss, when perform-
ance is being evaluated. The use of multiple appraisers not only allows all
aspects of the person’s performance to be evaluated, it also helps to iron out
any individual judgement biases which may be present. The promotability
problem mentioned in the previous paragraph can be tackled by including
some form of development centre as part of the whole process. Finally, per-
formance appraisal is likely to be much more effective when it is embedded
within an overall system of performance management.
Examination Two
1 Which of the following was one of the factors responsible for the emergence
of HRM?
A The human problems created by rapid technological change in organi-
sations
B The need to develop better techniques to select, train, and develop
people
C The emergence of new theories in organisational behaviour about how
to improve the job satisfaction of workers
D A belief that better management of people is the key to gaining com-
petitive advantage
2 Which of the following is one of Guest’s (1994) four key outcomes of HRM
policies?
A Innovation
B Strategic integration
C Quantity of output
D Profit
22 Which of the following has influenced the trend in recent years for careers
to become shorter?
A Bureaucratic forms of organisation
B A belief in some organisations that younger workers contribute more
than older ones
C Self-managed teams
D Development for employability schemes
1 What are the defining characteristics of the different models of HRM? How
would you describe the original Harvard model of Beer et al. in terms of
these characteristics?
3 Describe the main methods of job analysis. What are the advantages and
limitations of each of them?
.60 for structured interviews, compared to values of around .20 – .37 for
unstructured ones. Both Huffcutt and Arthur, and McDaniel, also reported,
in separate studies, very acceptable validities for interviews – provided they
were structured.
The question which now arises is ‘What exactly is a structured interview?’
A structured interview has four main characteristics. First of all it should
be built around a thorough competency/behaviourally-based job analysis,
so that the interviewer knows precisely what she is looking for. Second,
all questions must be job related and must be consistently asked of every
candidate. Broadly speaking, two types of job related questions have been
used. The first type, which are used in what has been called the PBDI (Janz),
asks candidates about specific events which have happened to them in the
past. The events must, of course, be related to the required competencies.
Thus if ability to meet deadlines was a competency, then questions focusing
on meeting deadlines in the past would be asked. This approach is based
on the well established psychological principle that past behaviour predicts
future behaviour. The second type of job related question asks candidates
how they would deal with a series of carefully selected job situations.
This is known as the situational interview (Latham), and it is based on
the principle that people actually do what they say they will do. To date
we do not have enough evidence to say which of these two approaches
is the more valid. The third characteristic of some types of structured
interview is the use of a fixed list of questions along with the alternative
answers which could be given by candidates to each question. This third
characteristic only really applies to the situational interview, at least as far
as the provision of alternative answers is concerned. Finally, in structured
interviews, interviewers are provided with behaviour based rating scales
against which candidates are assessed, usually on a number of dimensions.
Turning to Muchinsky’s third criterion of fairness, we do not have a clear
cut answer to this question at the present time (Arvey). Most interviews
require significant amounts of expensive management time and in this sense
the interview can be described as a fairly costly method of selection. On
the other hand, interviews have wide applicability, being appropriate for
almost any kind of job.
In conclusion, while historically interviews appeared to be of little real use
in selection, the advent of the structured interview has caused their value to
be re-assessed. It now appears that, provided a structured format is used,
interviews are indeed a useful method of selection.
the questionnaires. When this is the case, and when the information is in
an appropriate format, valuable statistical analysis can be carried out on
the data. One drawback of this approach is the time it takes to construct
the questionnaire. Also, important features of the job may be left out of the
questionnaire inadvertently. Finally, questionnaires are not well suited for
use with job holders who have had little formal education.
Checklists have much in common with questionnaires, except that in this
case the employee selects only those items, from a large list of statements,
which apply to his particular job. This avoids the potential problem with
questionnaires that job holders, in a misguided attempt to be helpful, might
provide ratings for activities which are not actually part of their job. Apart
from this, the advantages and limitations of checklists are similar to those
of questionnaires.
Interviews carried out on a one-to-one basis have the advantage that they
provide a rich source of qualitative information about the job. Also, it is the
job holders themselves – rather than the analyst – who provide the list of
relevant activities. Since they inevitably know the job more intimately than
the analyst, this has the advantage that important aspects of the job are
unlikely to be missed. Interviews can also be conducted with others who
know the job well, such as immediate supervisors. A major drawback of
this approach is its time-consuming nature for all concerned. Also, because
the data generated is qualitative, categorising it can be problematic.
Depending on the type of job, much can be learned by observing individuals
actually carrying it out. This would typically be followed up with a series
of interviews with job holders. A clear advantage of this approach is the
fact that it is based on actual job behaviour, rather than on what people say
they do. Once again, however, we are talking about a very time-consuming
procedure. In addition, it is clearly a method which cannot be applied to
all jobs. For example, how much could be learned about the job of novelist
simply by watching as person typing material into a word processor?
Group interview methods involve discussing the job with individuals in
groups. This is clearly more economical in terms of the analyst’s time. It
also has the benefit that one person’s responses can suggest sides to another.
On the other hand, some individuals may dominate the group, leading
to biased information. Aside from these considerations, the benefits and
drawbacks of this method are similar to those listed above for one-to-one
interviews.
The conference method typically uses brainstorming techniques to obtain
lists of job tasks and associated behaviours from groups of experts who
are thoroughly familiar with the job in question. Questionnaires can also
be incorporated into this method, with items being derived from the brain-
storming exercise. This combination of two techniques is a strength of this
approach.
Work diaries are particularly valuable in situations where the analyst sus-
pects that there are important features of the job which are so routine that
they may go unnoticed when the techniques we have described so far are
used. By asking job holders to keep a daily record of all of the tasks they
carry out, a very comprehensive record of work tasks can be built up. This
of course can be very time-consuming, not just for those who keep the
diaries, but also for the analyst who has the job of reading and analysing
them.
Depending on the nature of the job, it may be possible for the analyst
herself to carry out part, or even all, of the job. This can be valuable for
highlighting aspects of the job which the person doing the job is no longer
aware of because of the length of time for which he has been doing it. A
clear limitation of this method is the fact that it is only feasible for certain
kinds of job.
The critical incident technique requires respondents, who might be job
holders or their superiors, to describe specific behavioural events which have
actually occurred in the job in question, and which are critically important
aspects of the job. Examples of particularly successful and unsuccessful
ways in which the events were tackled may also be requested. The major
strength of this method is its focus on real events which exemplify excellent
and poor performance in job situations which are particularly important.
However, this focus on extreme events brings with it the risk that more
everyday events, which might still be important, are overlooked. Also,
because it concentrates on past events, the method is not well suited to the
identification of future-oriented performance requirements.
Finally, if there is a need to obtain as comprehensive as possible an analysis
of the job, the analyst will often use a combination of these methods.
ability tests 5/4, 5/6, 5/9–10, 5/18, 5/19 behaviour observation scales (BOS) 6/11–12
action learning 7/22 behaviour performance indicators 4/9–10
Adams, J.S. 4/22 behavioural change 7/14–15
adaptation 4/15 behavioural competencies 4/18–20
affective commitment 3/21 behavioural repertoires 4/9, 4/10
after between design 7/19 behaviourally anchored rating scales (BARS )
after within design 7/17–18 6/11–12
Alliger, G.M. 7/16 behaviour-modelling training (BMT) 7/9
Annette, J. 7/7 Belt, J.A. 5/13, 5/13
Anthony, P.D. 3/27 Bevan, S. 6/18
application forms 5/11 biodata 5/11–12
appointment decisions 5/5 Blum, L. 4/10
appraisal systems 1/10, 2/6, 6/3–16 Blyton, P. 3/10
behaviour focused appraisal 6/9 BMT (behaviour-modelling training) 7/9
interviews 6/4, 6/14–15 BOS (behaviour observation scales) 6/11–12
limitations of 6/15–16 Boxall, P.F. 2/6, 2/11
measuring effectiveness of 6/16, 6/16–17 Boyatzis, R. 4/18
personnel involved 6/12–13 brainstorming 4/13
process-oriented 6/8–9 bureaucratic organisations 3/7–8
promotion potential identification 6/6, 6/15, business strategy 1/2–3, 1/8, 2/3, 2/3
6/16
purposes and outcomes 6/5–6 Callanan and Greenhaus career stage model
recording information 6/9–12 8/5–6
results-oriented 6/6–8 Campbell, D.T. 7/17
and reward allocation 6/6, 6/15 Campbell, J.P. 7/15
360-degree appraisals 6/13, 6/16 career management 1/10
and training and development needs 1/10, career anchors 8/3–4
6/5, 6/6, 6/15 choice and decisions
aptitude tests 5/18 Holland’s theory 8/2–3
Arvey, R.D. 5/17 Schein’s theory 8/3–4
assessment centres 5/20–22, 6/6 coaching 8/12–13
AT & T Corporation 5/21 concept of 8/2
Atkinson, J. 3/11 counselling 8/13
attitude development 7/11 development centres 8/10–11
attitudinal qualities 4/16 development workshops 8/13
autonomous work groups 3/15 educational programmes 8/14
employee expectations 8/8–9
Bandura, A. 7/9 fast track schemes 8/11–12
Barrick, M.R. 5/19 future for careers 8/17–18
BARS (behaviourally anchored rating scales) mentoring 8/12–13, 8/20
6/11–12 organisation’s responsibility 8/9–10
Beason, G. 5/13, 5/13 psychological contract 8/8–9, 8/14–17
Beer, M. 2/1, 2/7–9 stages of careers 8/5–6
before after within and between design 7/19 work role transitions 8/6–8
before after within design 7/18–19 workbooks 8/13
behaviour and work motivation 1/6 change programmes 3/5, 3/26–27, 4/15
behaviour focused appraisal 6/9 checklists