Fundamentals of Human

Resource Management

Chapter 1
Strategic Implications of a Dynamic HRM Environment
 Introduction
• The World of Work - continues to change, but
at an even more rapid pace.
• HR must understand the implications of:
– globalization
– technology changes
– workforce diversity
– changing skill requirements
– continuous improvement initiatives
– the contingent work force
– decentralized work sites
– and employee involvement
 The Changing World of
Technology
• Has altered the way people work.
• Has changed the way information is created,
stored, used, and shared.
• The move from agriculture to industrialization
created a new group of workers – the blue-
collar industrial worker.
• Since WWII, the trend has been a reduction
in manufacturing work and an increase in
service jobs.
 The Changing World of
Technology
• Knowledge Worker - individuals whose jobs
are designed around the acquisition and
application of information.
• Why the emphasis on technology:
– makes organizations more productive
– helps them create and maintain a
competitive advantage
– provides better, more useful information
 The Changing World of
Technology
• How Technology Affects HRM Practices
– Recruiting
– Employee Selection
– Training and Development
– Ethics and Employee Rights
– Motivating Knowledge Workers
– Paying Employees Market Value
– Communication
– Decentralized Work Sites
– Skill Levels
– Legal Concerns
 Workforce Diversity
• The challenge is to make organizations
more accommodating to diverse groups
of people.
 Workforce Diversity
• The Workforce Today
– minorities and women have become the
fastest growing segments
– the numbers of immigrant workers and
older workers are increasing
 Workforce Diversity
• How Diversity Affects HRM
– Need to attract and maintain a diversified
work force that is reflective of the diversity
in the general population.
– Need to foster increased sensitivity to
group differences.
– Must deal with the different
• Values
• Needs
• Interests
• Expectations of employees
 Workforce Diversity
• What Is a Work/Life Balance?
– A balance between personal life and work
– Causes of the blur between work and life
• The creation of global organizations means the
world never sleeps.
• Communication technologies allow employees
to work at home.
• Organizations are asking employees to put in
longer hours.
• Fewer families have a single breadwinner.
 Understanding Cultural
Environments
• Today’s business world is truly a global
village. This term refers to the fact that
businesses currently operate around the
world.
 Understanding Cultural
Environments
• HRM must ensure that
– employees can operate in the appropriate language
– communications are understood by a multilingual work force
• Ensure that workers can operate in cultures that differ
on variables such as
– status differentiation
– societal uncertainty
– assertiveness
– individualism
• HRM also must help multicultural groups work
together.
 Understanding Cultural
Environments
• GLOBE Dimensions:
– Assertiveness
– Future Orientation
– Gender Differentiation
– Uncertainty Avoidance
– Power Distance
– Individualism/collectivism
– In-group collectivism
– Performance orientation
– Humane orientation
 Understanding Cultural
Environments
• Cultural Implications for HRM
– Not all HRM theories and practices are
universally applicable.
– HRM must understand varying cultural
values.
 Labor Supply
• Do We Have a Shortage of Skilled
Labor?
– The combination of the small Gen-X
population, the already high participation
rate of women in the workforce, and early
retirements will lead to a significantly
smaller future labor pool from which
employers can hire.
 Labor Supply
• Why Do Organizations Lay Off During
Shortages?
– Downsizing is part of a larger goal of
balancing staff to meet changing needs.
– Organizations want more flexibility to better
respond to change.
– This is often referred to as rightsizing,
linking employee needs to organizational
strategy.
 Labor Supply
• How Do Organizations Balance Labor
Supply?
– Organizations are increasingly using
contingent workers to respond to
fluctuating needs for employees.
– Contingent workers include
• Part-time workers
• Temporary workers
• Contract workers
Labor Supply
 Labor Supply
• Issues Contingent Workers Create for
HRM
– 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
• Continuous improvement - making
constant efforts to provide better
products and service to customers
– External
– Internal
• Quality management concepts have
existed for over 50 years and include
the pioneering work of W. Edwards
Deming.
 Continuous Improvement
Programs
• Key components of continuous
improvement are:
– Focus on the customer
– Concern for continuous improvement
– Improvement in the quality of everything
– Accurate measurement
– Empowerment of employees
 Continuous Improvement
Programs
• Work Process Engineering involves radical,
quantum changes to entire work processes.
• How HRM Assists in Work Process
Engineering
– Helps employees deal with the emotional aspects
of conflict and change
– Provides skills training
– Adapts HR systems, such as compensation,
benefits, and performance standards.
 Employee Involvement
• Delegation – having the authority to make
decisions in one’s job
• Work teams – workers of various
specializations who work together in an
organization
• HRM must provide training to help empower
employees in their new roles.
• Involvement programs can achieve:
– greater productivity
– increased employee loyalty and commitment
 A Look at Ethics
• Three views of ethics:
– Utilitarian View – decisions are made on the basis
of their outcomes or consequences
– Rights View – decisions are made with concern for
respecting and protecting individual liberties and
privileges
– Theory of Justice View – decisions are make by
enforcing rules fairly and impartially
• Code of ethics - a formal document that
states an organization’s primary values and
the ethical rules it expects organizational
members to follow.