HRM in a Changing Environment

### HRM Functions - Classic Motivation Theories: - Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y - Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory - McClelland's Achievement, Affiliation, and Power Motives - Adams' Equity Theory - Vroom's Expectancy Theory ### Basic Concepts - Management: Coordinating and overseeing work activities to achieve organizational goals effectively and efficiently. - Effectiveness - Efficiency - Areas of Management: Human Resource, Information Technology, Financial, Marketing, Operations, Strategic. - Human Resource Management (HRM): Function concerned with organization's manpower performance and issues; practice of recruiting, hiring, deploying, and managing employees. - Human resource is a vital asset; goal is effective use, risk reduction, and maximizing ROI. - Major HRM activities: HR Planning, Job Analysis, Recruitment & Hiring/Selection, Orientation, Training & Development, Motivation, Performance Appraisal, Compensation & Benefits, Legal Issues/Industrial Relations, Health, Safety, and Security. ### Introduction - Rapidly changing world of work; HR must understand implications of globalization, technology, workforce diversity, changing skills, continuous improvement, contingent work force, decentralized work sites, and employee involvement. ### Understanding Cultural Environments - HRM professionals need to understand cultural differences and adapt practices; ensure availability of potential employees with knowledge, skills, and cultural adaptability for global assignments. - GLOBE Dimensions: - Performance Orientation: Encourages innovation, high standards, excellence. - Uncertainty Avoidance: Relies on social norms, rules to alleviate unpredictability. - In-Group Collectivism: Pride, loyalty, cohesiveness. - Power Distance: Acceptance of authority, power differences. - Gender Egalitarianism: Minimizes gender inequality. - Humane Orientation: Encourages fairness, altruism, kindness. - Institutional Collectivism: Encourages collective distribution of resources. - Future Orientation: Encourages future-oriented behaviors. - Assertiveness: Assertive, confrontational. ### The Changing World of Technology - Technology has altered the way people work, create, store, use, and share information. - Shift from agriculture to industrialization created blue-collar workers; trend towards reduction in manufacturing, increase in service jobs. - Knowledge Workers: Main capital is knowledge (e.g., programmers, physicians). - Emphasis on technology: Makes organizations more productive, helps create competitive advantage, provides better information. - Affects HRM practices: Recruitment & Selection, Training & Development, Performance Appraisal, Motivation, Compensation & Benefits, Legal Concerns, Communication, Ethics & Employee Rights. ### Workforce Diversity - Varied personal characteristics that make the workforce heterogeneous; similarities and differences in age, gender, cultural background, physical abilities, knowledge, race, & religion. - Challenge: Make organizations accommodating to diverse groups. - Minorities and women are the fastest-growing segments; important to consider equal rights and work-life balance. - HRM must attract and maintain a diversified, productive, and loyal workforce; avoid practices against effective diversity policy. ### Work Life Balance - State of equilibrium prioritizing career and personal life. - Poor work-life balance due to increased responsibilities and longer hours. ### Labor Supply - Shortage of skilled labor due to various reasons including world wars, birth rate, labor participation rate, and terrorist attacks. - Downsizing: Permanent reduction of labor force, often during economic downturns. - Rightsizing: Balancing staff to meet changing needs, linking employee needs to organizational strategy. - Contingent workers: Used to respond to fluctuating needs (part-time, temporary, contract workers). ### Part-Time Employees - Work fewer than 40 hours; few benefits; supplement staff during peak hours. ### Temporary Employees - Employed during peak periods; fill-ins for employees off work. ### Contract Workers - Subcontractors and consultants for specific projects; fixed labor cost. ### Issues Contingent Workers - Each worker may need to be treated differently. - How to attract quality temporaries. - How to motivate employees who are receiving less pay and benefits. - How to have them available when needed. - How to quickly adapt them to the organization. - How to deal with potential conflicts between core and contingent workers. ### Continuous Improvement Programs - Constant efforts to provide better products and services. - Internal (Employees, Managers) - External (Consumer, Supplier, Other organization/Customer) - Key components: Customer Focused, Concern for continuous improvement, Quality Enhancement Initiatives, Accurate measurement/Effective Controlling System, Employee Empowerment. - HRM helps in work process engineering by addressing emotional aspects of conflict/change, providing skills training, and adapting HR systems. ### Employee Involvement - Delegation: Having authority to make decisions. - Work teams: Workers of various specializations collaborating. - HRM provides training to empower employees in new roles; involvement programs achieve greater productivity and loyalty. ### A Look at Ethics - Three Views of Ethics: - Utilitarian View: Decisions based on outcomes or consequences. - Rights View: Decisions respecting and protecting individual liberties. - Theory of Justice View: Decisions enforcing rules fairly. - Code of ethics: Formal document stating organization's values and ethical rules .