Expert answer:Human Resource Management
Solved by verified expert:Unit 1 Completed Section Introduction to HR and the HRM Environment 1.) Should Mr. Polk and others be allowed to violate a grooming policy on the basis of a religious proclamation on the sanctity of dreadlocks? Why or why not? If you answer “yes,” is there any point where you would draw the line in terms of company policy regarding appearance and the religious implications of dress? 2.) Does FedEx have a right to impose a reasonable grooming policy based on customer reactions to personnel appearances? Requirements: APA Format 600 words each 3 references per question, one can be the reading material that is provided.Please Keep the answer separated like the questions.Also the HRMCPS_CTA 3-A is for the questions above and the reading material as well. Bethel University. (2013). Human Resource Management, An Experimental Approach, Sixth Edition. Retrieved from https://www.betheluniversityonline.net
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Human Resource Management
An Experiential Approach
Sixth Edition
W
I
H. JOHN BERNARDIN
L
Stewart Distinguished Professor,
S
Florida Atlantic University
O
JOYCE E. A. RUSSELL
N
Ralph J. Tyser Distinguished Teaching Fellow,
,
The University of Maryland
J
A
M
I
E
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Chapter
1
Strategic Human Resource
Management in a
Changing Environment
Copyright © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved.
W
I
L
OBJECTIVES
S
After reading this chapter,
you should be able to
O
1. Describe the field N
of human resource management (HRM) and its potential
for creating and adding value within contemporary organizations.
,
2. Describe discrepancies between actual HRM practices and recommendations
for HRM practice based on scholarly research.
3. Describe the majorJactivities of HRM.
4. Explain important A
trends relevant to HRM, including the increasing
globalization of the
Meconomy, changing technology, the role of regulations
and lawsuits, the changing demographics of the workforce, and the
I
growing body of research linking particular HRM practices to corporate
E
performance.
5. Emphasize the importance of measurement for effective and strategic HRM.
6. Understand what is5 meant by competitive advantage, and what the four
mechanisms are for offering and maintaining uniqueness.
0
5
1
OVERVIEW
B Paul Sassi, the fluidity of President Obama’s signature is a sign
According to graphologist
of high intelligence, while
U its illegibility shows he is protecting his privacy. “He doesn’t
want you to know him too well.” Another handwriting expert concluded: “The large
letters in Obama’s signature show that he is ambitious, self-confident, and views himself
as a leader. . . . The fluid letter forms reveal that he can form a coalition, be diplomatic,
and get along with both sides of the aisle.” She added: “He’s the type of guy who could tell
you to go to hell and you’d enjoy the trip.”1 In her assessment of Mitt Romney, graphologist Sheila Kurtz concluded that he is inclined to think quickly but impulsively, to dream
big, but don’t even think about telling him what to do. Kurtz describes President Obama as
“unclogged with preconceptions and prejudices,” with an ability to consider new ideas and
probe beneath the surface of issues. She also claims his handwriting also reveals that he is
unlikely to act on “raw or coerced impulse.”2
When one of your authors shared these assessments with undergraduate human
resources classes, about 20 percent of students thought the evaluations were “dead on
accurate,” another 30 percent described the profiles as “mostly accurate,” about 25 percent
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1 / Human Resource Management and the Environment
Major HRM
responsibilities
Sound measurement
is critical to effective HR
thought they were “completely inaccurate,” and about 25 percent had no opinion at all
on the accuracy of the profiles. Within the last group, however, about half of the students
expressed skepticism about assessing someone’s personality, intelligence, motivation, or
anything else important using the person’s handwriting. It is this group of students who
are “dead-on accurate.” Research clearly shows that handwriting is not a valid means of
assessing anything important (except your handwriting!).
The assessment of politicians is not the only application you will find of such invalid
assessment methods. Inc. magazine, one of the most popular magazines for U.S. small
businesses, ran a story extolling the benefits of using graphology to hire managers.3 The
article reported that the use of graphology was on the increase and that the method was
very effective for selecting managers and salespersons. Sound research in human resource
management (HRM) has determined that companies would do just about as well picking
names out of a hat to make personnel decisions.4
Skilled HRM specialists help organizations with all activities related to staffing and maintaining an effective workforce. Major HRM responsibilities include work design and job analysis,
training and development, recruiting, compensation, team building, performance management
W
and appraisal, and worker health and safety issues as well as identifying and developing valid
I
methods for selecting staff.
Research by academics who study
L and teach HRM is devoted to identifying the most
effective and efficient methods for meeting these HRM responsibilities. A key theme of
SHRM programs, policies, and practices are those
this book is that the most effective
that are developed based on HRM
O research results. Another theme of this book is that
contemporary HRM practice often ignores the sound research about policy, practice, or
Ngood decisions. Instead, organizations are apt to adopt
people that is available to help make
an HRM practice merely because ,competitors are using it (this was a main theme of the
Inc. article about graphology).
One of your authors once had a conversation with a business owner who had hired his
145-person sales staff based on graphology
reports (at $75 per report) and the answer to a
J
single question posed in an interview. When questioned about the validity of these methods, the business owner described A
one terrible salesman he had hired out of desperation in
a tight labor market despite a graphologist’s
report that said the “small writing with little
M
slant indicated he may be too introverted for sales work.” This one example had stuck in
I
his mind as “proof” of graphology’s effectiveness. He lamented, “If only I had listened
E a bundle training the guy!” Those of us who teach
to the handwriting expert. I wasted
statistics refer to this type of “research” as a “man who” statistic in which a person enlists
a single case to support or refute a theory. For example, when you discuss the overwhelm5 causes cancer, someone might offer the counterarguing evidence showing that smoking
ment that “yea, but my aunt smoked
0 three packs a day and lived to be 90.” An article in
the Washington Post reported that the Pilot Pen Company’s CEO Ronald Shaw was a big
5 it for all hiring decisions because the graphologist’s
believer in graphology and would use
profile based on his own handwriting
1 showed that he was “sincere and intelligent and had
a lot of integrity.”5 While (apparently) flattery will get you somewhere (or at least a good
Bget you accurate or valid assessments of the personal
consulting gig), graphology will not
characteristics related to job performance
U (even the job of president). Needless to say, this
is not the way to do research on a procedure.
There are good ways to do research and good ways to assess the effects of programs, procedures, and activities of HRM. Sound measurement, followed by data-driven decision
making, are keys to effective management. Remember the old adage: if it’s not measured,
it’s not managed. Management needs to collect and validate information. This information can
be a major asset and in many cases, “the raw material of new products and services, smarter
decisions, competitive advantage for companies, and greater growth and productivity.”6 A 2011
study led by MIT professor Erik Brynjolfsson showed that companies that adopted “data-driven
decision making” for major managerial decisions achieved productivity that was 5 to 6 percent
higher than what could be explained by other factors, including how much the companies invested in technology. Data-driven decision making was defined not only by collecting sound
data on critical variables, but also whether the results of the data collection were then used
to make crucial decisions. The major distinction made in the study was determining whether
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The Balanced Scorecard
The Workforce Scorecard
Copyright © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved.
Lagging and leading
indicators
The vision of HRM for the
21st century
managerial decisions were based mainly on “data and analysis” versus the more traditional
“experience and intuition.”7
Graphology has been the subject of sound, data-based research to determine whether
diagnostics that derive from a person’s handwriting actually predicts whether a person is
going to be a competent manager and great salesperson (it doesn’t). As we discuss in detail
in Chapter 6, there are many methods that do an excellent job predicting performance.
Data-driven (and effective) HRM means decision makers (HR specialists and line managers)
are aware of these valid methods and then use them to make decisions.
Many HRM systems and activities are not subjected to systematic measurement and
analysis. In fact, many organizations do not assess either the short- or long-term consequences of their HRM programs or activities. Another key theme of the book is that
measurement and data-driven decision making are key components to organizational
effectiveness and competitive advantage. Good measurement and data-driven decisions,
allied with business strategies, will help organizations identify and improve all of their
HRM activities and resultant decisions.
Stanford University professor Jeffrey Pfeffer considers measurement to be one of the keys
W
to competitive advantage. His book Competitive Advantage Through People cites measurement
I
as one of the 16 HRM practices
that contribute the most to competitive advantage.8 Pfeffer’s
views were echoed and L
expanded in the popular text The Balanced Scorecard by Harvard
professor Robert Kaplan and consultant David Norton.9 Kaplan and Norton stress that “if companies are to survive andSprosper in information age competition, they must use measurement and management systems
O derived from their strategies and capabilities” (p. 21). Their
“balanced scorecard” emphasizes much more management attention to “leading indicators” of
N “lagging” financial performance measures. The “balance” reflects
performance that predict the
the need to measure short, and long-term objectives, financial and nonfinancial measures,
lagging and leading indicators, and internal and external performance perspectives.
In their book The Workforce Scorecard, Professors Mark Huselid, Brian Becker, and
Dick Beatty extend research
J on the “balanced scorecard” to a comprehensive management
and measurement system designed to maximize workforce potential.10 These authors show
A performance measures such as return on equity, stock price,
that the traditional financial
and return on investment,
Mthe “lagging indicators,” can be predicted by the way companies
conduct their HR. HR practices are the “leading indicators” that predict subsequent finanI
cial performance measures.11 Unfortunately, research indicates that only a small percentage of HRM programs orEactivities are subjected to critical, data-driven analysis. The good
news, however, is that the percentage is at least going up. Measurement and data-driven
decision making are essential for American organizations in the 21st century!
5 vision of HRM for the 21st century. HRM activities must be
One study defined the
(1) responsive to a highly
0 competitive marketplace and global business structures,
(2) closely linked to business strategic plans, (3) jointly conceived and implemented by line
and HR managers, and 5
(4) focused on quality, customer service, productivity, employee
involvement, teamwork,1and workforce flexibility.12 In general, research shows that the
realization of this vision translates into greater organizational effectiveness.
B body of research, the status of HRM is improving relative to
Perhaps because of this
other potential sources ofU
competitive advantage for an organization. Professor Pfeffer notes
that “traditional sources of success (e.g., speed to market, financial, technological) can still
provide competitive leverage, but to a lesser degree now than in the past, leaving organizational culture and capabilities, derived from how people are managed, as comparatively
more vital.”13 Research clearly indicates that certain HR practices can increase employees’ knowledge, skills, and abilities through more valid staffing and selection decisions,
serve to empower employees to leverage these superior characteristics for the benefit of
the organization, and to increase the motivation of these employees to do so. The results
of these practices are greater job satisfaction and organizational commitment, lower levels
of voluntary turnover among key personnel, and higher productivity.14
You are likely to manage people at some point in your career. Research shows that the
extent to which you as a manager make data-driven, evidence-based HR decisions will
be a key to your effectiveness as a manager.15 We believe that the knowledge and experiences we provide here will prepare you to be an effective manager. We emphasize that the
5
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Keep mission in mind
most effective HRM programs, policies, and practices are those that derive from strong
research and data-driven decisions that are carefully aligned with the organization’s strategic mission and objectives. All HRM activities should be evaluated in this context, using
“leading indicator” performance measures.
WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT?
Line managers and HRM
HRM and Corporate
Performance
The human resources of an organization consist of all people who perform its activities.
In a sense, all decisions that affect the workforce concern the organization’s HRM function. Human resource management concerns the personnel policies and managerial practices and systems that influence the workforce. Regardless of the size—or existence—of a
formal HRM or personnel department (many small businesses do not have a formal HRM
department), the activities involved in HRM are pervasive throughout the organization.
Line managers, for example, will W
spend more than 50 percent of their time involved in
human resource activities such as hiring,
evaluating, motivating, disciplining, and schedulI
ing employees.
L
The effectiveness with which line management performs HRM functions with the tools,
data, and processes provided by S
HRM specialists is the key to competitive advantage
through HRM. This principle generalizes from very small businesses to the very largest
O
global enterprises. Dr. James Spina, former head of executive development at the Tribune
N
Company, really put things in perspective
about the role of HRM. He said, “The HRM
focus should always be maintaining, and, ideally, expanding the customer base while maintaining and, ideally, maximizing profit. HRM has a whole lot to do with this focus regardless of the size of the business, or the products or services you are trying to sell.”
Those individuals classified within
J an HRM functional unit provide important products
and services for the organization. These products and services may include the provision
Aor processes that facilitate organizational restructurof, or recommendation for, systems
ing, job design, personnel planning,
Mrecruitment, hiring, evaluating, training, developing,
promoting, compensating, and terminating personnel. A major goal of this book is to
I that will improve the student’s future involveprovide information and experiences
ment and effectiveness in HRM activities.
E
A good way to think of an HR department is to view the department as a business
within the company. The HR business has three product lines: (1) administrative services
and transactions, which are made up
5 of areas such as staffing and compensation; (2) business partner services, which assist in implementing business plans and meeting objectives;
0
and (3) strategic partner, which contributes to the firm’s strategy based on human capital
considerations and developing HR5practices to foster competitive advantage.16 The most
common and traditional product line for HR is the first one: administrative services. How1
ever, the most effective (but less common) HR departments contribute significantly to the
B
other two lines as well.
While HR is capable of creatingU
and sustaining competitive advantage, some would argue that HR, as it is practiced, is often more a weakness than a strength. One survey found
that only 40 percent of employees thought their companies were doing a good job retaining
high-quality workers, and only 41 percent thought performance evaluations were fair. A
mere 58 percent of respondents reported their job training as favorable. A majority said
they had few opportunities for advancement and they had little idea about how to advance
in the first place. Only about half of those surveyed below the managerial level believed
their companies took a genuine interest in their well-being.17
A growing body of research shows that progressive HRM practices can have a significant
effect on corporate performance. Studies now document the relationship between specific
HR practices and critical outcome measures such as corporate financial performance, productivity, product and service quality, and cost control.18 Many of the methods characterizing
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Figure 1-1
Characteristics of
High-Performance Work
Practices (HPWP)
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
Large number of highly qualified applicants for each strategic position.
The use of validated selection and promotion models/procedures.
Extensive training and development of new employees.
The use of formal performance appraisal and management.
The use of multisource (360 degree) performance appraisal and feedback.
Linkage of merit increases to formal appraisal processes.
Above-market compensation for key positions.
High percentage of entire workforce included in incentive systems.
High differential in pay between high and low performers.
High percentage of workforce working in self-managed, project-based work teams.
Low percentage of employees covered by union contract.
High percentage of managerial jobs filled from within.
Source: Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business School Press. From The HR Scorecard, by B. Becker and M. Ulrich.
Boston, MA, 2001. Copyright © 2001 by the Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation’ all rights reserved.
High-performance work
systems
Copyright © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved.
Validation
Focus on core competencies
W
I
these so-called high-performance
work systems or practices (HPWP) have been researched
and developed by the HRM
academic
community. Figure 1-1 presents a summary of this
L
research.
HPWP are particularS
HR practices or characteristics designed to enhance employees’
competencies and productivity
O so that employees can be a reliable source of competitive
advantage. They have been called “coherent practices that enhance the skills of the workN making, and motivation to put forth discretionary effort.”
force, participation in decision
Research shows that “firm
, competitiveness can be enhanced by high-performance work
systems.” A summary of this research found that one standard deviation of improved
assessment on an HPWP measurement tool increased sales per employee in excess of
$15,000, an 8 percent gain
J in labor productivity.19 A more recent review concluded that
“research in applied psychology and strategic human resource management clearly indiA capital can yield positive individual- as well as organizationcates that investing in human
level performance outcomes.”
M 20
Recall the critical remarks earlier about graphology, or handwriting analysis. Validated
I
selection and promotion systems are related to higher productivit …
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