BM2103- Human Resource Management:
Week 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management:
What is human resource management?
- Human resource management focuses on the management practises that organisations
use to manage people.
The employee life cycle portrays the journey of an employee through their employment with an
organisation.
1) Attract- the organisation begins with having to attract people to apply for a job at the
organisation.
2) New hire- the organisation then looks to recruit suitable applicants.
3) Onboard (or induct)- the organisation must then orient the employees such that they
understand how things work.
4) Evaluate their performance.
5) Develop- decide what additional skills must be developed within the new employees.
6) Encourage- motivate the new employees to work well.
7) Recognise- reward employee for good performance
8) Farewell- the organisation must manage the exit of an employee
So, human resource management is a set of management actions as described above.
Human resource management also includes a strategic focus on achieving competitive
advantage. This including
- Staffing: getting the right people with the right skills in the right roles
- Performance: how could HR motivate employees and maximise their job performance
- Management of change: structural or cultural change could occur in the workforce.
How could HR change direction or reorganise the structure? Often, employees are often
involved in the change process.
- Building an organisation's reputation: HR should aim to portray ethics and social
responsibility within the organisation. Organisations that treat employees poorly often
have bad reputations.
- Employee well-being: it is HR’ job to ensure that the quality of working life is good.
HR as a drive of business success:
People are at the core of every business. So, effective management of people is critical to every
business’ success.
People must be productive for the business to be successful.
People are “productive assets” (people are human resources).
,People have a choice about how hard they work and how productive they are. If they feel as
though they are not being treated well, they will not do their best.
Learning objective: to understand how to manage people effectively to serve business needs.
HR as a source of sustainable competitive advantage:
People are “human resources” with rights and feelings. So, we must account for them differently
when we manage them.
HRM has a strong ethical dimension that does not exist with other resources in a business.
There is an element of social responsibility.
A key objective for all managers: to provide a good quality of working life for the people you
manage-for ethical reasons and because a positive work experience can also have the benefit
of prompting higher performance on a number of metrics.
Learning objective: to understand how to provide a good quality of working life for the people
you manage.
Who is responsible for effective people leadership?
HR management in modern organisations:
Corporate HR: provides strategic direction (C-suite) and centralised expertise.
HR business partner: is a person attached to a particular division in the business (eg finance)
and provides advice and support daily.
HR service centre: conducts generic administrative tasks, such as managing leave and training
of staff.
Line manager: is incharge of the day to day management of people (unlike the other roles).
HRM is about effective people leadership- it is too important to be left to the HR department.
Everyone must get involved in this process.
Successful HRM requires effective implementation from line managers: key link in the HRM ->
performance ‘causal chain’:
, Intended HR practices-> Implemented HR practices-> Perceived HR practices-> Employee
attitudes-> Employee behaviours-> Business outcomes.
People usually leave a business as their line managers are usually not supportive or helpful to
them.
- Line managers who do not provide feedback or good pay are often responsible for the
leaving of an employee.
- Thus, line managers are a critical link in this chain.
So, the way we manage people affects business outcomes.
We all have to take responsibility for managing people effectively, and it is not only the job of HR
specialists.
Evidence-based human resource management:
Sources are often biased. Therefore, whilst looking for evidence, we must look for studies that
cover many different businesses or case studies that follow businesses over time to provide an
understanding of how they change their practices and the outcome of this change.
Week 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management:
What is human resource management?
- Human resource management focuses on the management practises that organisations
use to manage people.
The employee life cycle portrays the journey of an employee through their employment with an
organisation.
1) Attract- the organisation begins with having to attract people to apply for a job at the
organisation.
2) New hire- the organisation then looks to recruit suitable applicants.
3) Onboard (or induct)- the organisation must then orient the employees such that they
understand how things work.
4) Evaluate their performance.
5) Develop- decide what additional skills must be developed within the new employees.
6) Encourage- motivate the new employees to work well.
7) Recognise- reward employee for good performance
8) Farewell- the organisation must manage the exit of an employee
So, human resource management is a set of management actions as described above.
Human resource management also includes a strategic focus on achieving competitive
advantage. This including
- Staffing: getting the right people with the right skills in the right roles
- Performance: how could HR motivate employees and maximise their job performance
- Management of change: structural or cultural change could occur in the workforce.
How could HR change direction or reorganise the structure? Often, employees are often
involved in the change process.
- Building an organisation's reputation: HR should aim to portray ethics and social
responsibility within the organisation. Organisations that treat employees poorly often
have bad reputations.
- Employee well-being: it is HR’ job to ensure that the quality of working life is good.
HR as a drive of business success:
People are at the core of every business. So, effective management of people is critical to every
business’ success.
People must be productive for the business to be successful.
People are “productive assets” (people are human resources).
,People have a choice about how hard they work and how productive they are. If they feel as
though they are not being treated well, they will not do their best.
Learning objective: to understand how to manage people effectively to serve business needs.
HR as a source of sustainable competitive advantage:
People are “human resources” with rights and feelings. So, we must account for them differently
when we manage them.
HRM has a strong ethical dimension that does not exist with other resources in a business.
There is an element of social responsibility.
A key objective for all managers: to provide a good quality of working life for the people you
manage-for ethical reasons and because a positive work experience can also have the benefit
of prompting higher performance on a number of metrics.
Learning objective: to understand how to provide a good quality of working life for the people
you manage.
Who is responsible for effective people leadership?
HR management in modern organisations:
Corporate HR: provides strategic direction (C-suite) and centralised expertise.
HR business partner: is a person attached to a particular division in the business (eg finance)
and provides advice and support daily.
HR service centre: conducts generic administrative tasks, such as managing leave and training
of staff.
Line manager: is incharge of the day to day management of people (unlike the other roles).
HRM is about effective people leadership- it is too important to be left to the HR department.
Everyone must get involved in this process.
Successful HRM requires effective implementation from line managers: key link in the HRM ->
performance ‘causal chain’:
, Intended HR practices-> Implemented HR practices-> Perceived HR practices-> Employee
attitudes-> Employee behaviours-> Business outcomes.
People usually leave a business as their line managers are usually not supportive or helpful to
them.
- Line managers who do not provide feedback or good pay are often responsible for the
leaving of an employee.
- Thus, line managers are a critical link in this chain.
So, the way we manage people affects business outcomes.
We all have to take responsibility for managing people effectively, and it is not only the job of HR
specialists.
Evidence-based human resource management:
Sources are often biased. Therefore, whilst looking for evidence, we must look for studies that
cover many different businesses or case studies that follow businesses over time to provide an
understanding of how they change their practices and the outcome of this change.
