Intro to HRM

what is HRM?

a distinctive approach to employment that seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of highly committed and capable workforce using cultural, structural and personnel techniques (Storey, 2007)

what are the 5 main employment areas that HRM is concerned with?

• recruitment and selection,

• learning and development,

• performance management,

• employee involvement,

• reward systems.

what are employee relations?

a company’s efforts to manage relationships between employers and employees.

what is dual nature of HRM?

a need to gain control over and commitment from workers.

what requires cooperation between 2 parties?

meeting operational goals and employee’s personal goals.

explain the case study for ‘control is essential for the employee relationship’?

Dynamex

they preferred to classify its truck drivers as independent contractors to avoid liability for the negligence of workers rushing to meet a deadline and needing to comply with laws concerning wages, hours, and working conditions of employees.

BUT… courts ruled that company’s ‘right t control’ work done done by workers meant they were employees not contractors.

what is one cause of conflict in business?

control

what is the government responsible for?

make sure the fair working for self-employed people

why do some companies make their workers sign contracts to say they’re self employed?

so the company doesn’t have to pay national insurance or anything like that

what are the 2 statutory rights for both parties?

• right not to be unfairly dismissed,

• right to bargain.

What happened in the UK from 1979 onwards?

EU laws increased workers’ rights. from 1979 onwards, there are moves to restrict the activities of trade unions.

what have the recent changed in employment laws (April 2024) done?

expanded rights for employees around flexible working, paid and unpaid leave and protection from redundancy during parental leave/

what the Hawthorne effect?

people change (improve) behaviour when they know they’re being watched

what’s a psychological contract?

an unwritten rule of, you’ve worked hard for an obligation, so they are likely to look after me. they’re perceived promises, obligations and perceptions.

who do organisations usually look after?

shareholders

what is human relations thinking?

philosophy of managing employees. improved working conditions, respect for employees would pay for itself through higher productivity and lower labour turnover (Morton 1962)

what did Bournville do for their workers?

they started off by giving employees housing, good working conditions and reasonable pay in return for hard work. they also encouraged no alcohol so had no pubs on their sites.

why was HR made?

it was made for people so they didn’t have to join a union.

what did personnel management do in WW1?

it was an attempt to manage labour professionally and systematically.

how has the name of HR professional developed?

welfare workers to labour managers to personnel managers to HR professionals

what is the Taloristic approach?

people are units of production. if we break down the tasks, tell them exactly how to do them and watch them all the time then we can control them through coercion.

what are hard versions?

emphasises resources and adopts a rational approach to managing employees

what do soft versions do?

emphasise the term ‘human’, advocates training and development, commitment, competitive advantage of skilled and loyal employees.

what do soft versions focus on?

employee wellbeing and flexible working

what is the HRD model?

deployment of human resources to meet objectives

what will the most effective method of management depend on?

organisational context

why can’t conflict exist in a workplace?

because everyone is working to achieve the same goal

what’s the Michigan school model and what does it involve?

the human resource cycle

• selection → performance management → rewards → performance

• selection → performance management → development → performance.

what is the harvard model?

recognised the various stakeholders in an organisation and HRM strategies will have to reflect different interests.

what are the 6 stakeholder interests?

• shareholders,

• management,

• employee groups,

• government,

• community,

• unions.

what are the situational factors?

• workforce characteristics

• business strategy and confidence

• management philosophy,

• labour market,

• unions,

• task technology,

• laws and societal values.

what are human resource management choices?

• employee influence,

• human resource flow,

• reward systems,

• work systems.

what are 4 human resource outcomes/

• commitment,

• competence,

• congruence,

• cost-effectiveness,

what are 3 long term consequences?

• individual well-being,

• organisational effectiveness,

• societal wellbeing

what is strategic integration?

managers must incorporate HRM perspective into decision-making

what’s the employee staff turnover of amazon?

106%

what does Ulrich’s strategic partner model demonstrate

the added value of HR in business activities.

what 4 key roles should HR professionals adopt according to Ulrich’s strategic partner model?

• strategic partner,

• change agent,

• administrative expert,

• employee champion.

what’s a strategic partner?

working with seminar and line managers in strategy execution. identify organisational architecture and undertake regular audits to identify necessary changes

what do change agents identify?

key success factors in organisation and assessing SWOT factors

what do administrative experts do?

improve processes to enhance efficiency of HR function resulting in improved organisational performance.

what do employee champions do?

ensure employees are engaged. they act as a vice of employees in managerial discussions, opportunities for personal and professional growth.