Managing People : A Global perspective
Lecture 1
HRM
= the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees’ attitudes, behavior, performance
Or..
Human resource management is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to
obtain competitive advantage thought the strategic deployment of a highly committed and skilled
workforce, using an array of culture, structural and personnel techniques (Storey, 1995).
How do you make use of each of those practices to achieve companies performance/individual
performance
Programs, processes and techniques that actually get operationalized in the unit (Wright & Bos well,
2002)
-Things that happen
-Concrete ways in which people are managed in the organization
-Certain level of facticity
Vs
The actual functioning, observable activities, as experienced by employees (Boselie et al., 2005)
-Actual practices and experiences
-Observable..
Focus on five core HRM practices
- Employee relations and collective communication
- Recruitment and selection
- Performance management
- Rewards
- Training and development
Theme 1 : comparative HRM
Theme 2 : current trends and challenges
Theme 4 : understanding effects based on OB theories
Quiet quitting = I do what is expected and not more.
Quit quitting is about bad bosses, not bad employees
Great resignation : turnover rate are much higher after the pandemic
- You lose human capital you invested in
- You might need to pay more when rehiring
Etc.
Attract but also retain employees
>nowadays people have a more active attitude towards their job and satisfaction.
,Practice 1 : Employee relations and collective communication
= Employee relations concern matters of overarching employment or collective workforce policy, such
as bargaining (the traditional focus of industrial relations), and expression of the collective of
employees
Current trends and challenges
- Changes nature of work : remote working
- E-HRM
Importance of employee relations and collective communication for employee commitment and
retention -> e.g. exchange theory
Practice 2: Recruitment and selection
• One of the purposes of recruitment is to determine present and future staffing needs in conjunction
with job analysis and human resource planning
• Selection – a linked but separate practice after recruitment – then involves the identification of the
most suitable person from a pool of applicants
>Recruitment is about attracting people , selection is about choosing the right person for the job.
Current challenges
- Personnel shortages
- War for talent
Practice 3: Performance management
= Is about the conversation between line manager and employee about priorities and their
achievements
But also.. a HR designed process to align the workforce with the strategy
Current trends and challenges:
- HRM analytics
Effects on outcomes
- Expectancy theory
Practice 4 : Rewards
People are the largest single operating cost item of most businesses.
Using rewards to motivate employees and/or engender their active commitment or engagement
Current trends and challenges
- Bonuses
- Performance related pay
- Pay differences
Effects on outcomes : motivation theory,
efficiency wage theory
Total reward = Direct financial rewards + non-direct
of delayed financial rewards (like pension) + non-
financial rewards
Non-financial rewards:
- Learning and development
- Work environment
Practice 5 : Training and development
Training = the planned and systematic modification of behaviour through learning events, programs
and instruction which enables individuals to achieve the levels of knowledge, skill and competence to
carry out their work effectively. More short term
Development = the growth or realization of a person’s ability and potential through the provision of
learning and educational experiences. For the long run.
Current trends and challenges
, - Talent management
- Employability
- Learning organisation
Employee management paradox
= about investing in employees
What if we train them and they leave? What is we don’t and they stay?
>it’s about investing in your employee with training and development makes your employee also more
attractive for other companies. Then you will lose your investment in human resources.
Effect on outcomes : Psychological contract theory
= The employer expects more than what is written in the contract but the employee also get more than
just the paycheck.
Everything below the line psychological contract and above the line is the legal contract
Lecture 2 :
HRM in context : gaining insight in various theories, perspectives and models on the relationship
between HRM and (national) context
- Theoretical perspective
o Best fit versus best practices
o Universalistic, contingent, configurational and contextual perspectives
o Contextually based human resource theory
Empirical application
- CRANET
HRM practices differs in context
Three main approaches:
1. Cross-cultural management : HRM across cultures
2. International HRM : How HRM practices are implemented by one country that operates in
different countries (MNC’s).
3. Comparative HRM : Differences/similarities in HRM across countries
Relevance of studying HRM in context
>Business and management has globalized, a growing extensity, intensity and velocity of global
interactions associated with deepening impact, such that the effect of distant events can be highly
significant elsewhere.
-management should be international and outward-looking
-requirement to compare and learn from different nations and cultures
-MNCs need international management skills and knowledge transfer to subsidiaries
-strategic and governmental processes are international and global
, Best fit vs. Best practices
Best practice perspective there is one way to do it
= This perspective beliefs of the existence of one set of HRM practices that leads to superior
organizational performance
Related to so called High Performance Work Systems
- Ideal combination of practices
Best fit perspective
= Importance of fit between HRM practices and internal and external context
Effect of HRM practices dependent on for example fit with organizational strategy
When they are in line you will reach best performance
>But there might be underlying principles that work for all
Companies are moving to where wellbeing is also seen as an important outcome
Perspectives on HRM (Martin-Alcazar et al., 2008)
Universalistic
Best practices, deliver enhanced organizational performance
Organization as ‘black box’ what bundles of HRM practices can impact on performance
Example (Huettermann & Bruch)
Pfeffer (1998)
High performance work systems (HPWS)
Organizations realize that they need to retain
Contingent perspective
= the most appropriate style of management is dependent on the context of the situation. Add
intervening variables between HRM practice/outcome, usually strategy, organizational context,
external environment, or organizational learning capability
o mediators
Lecture 1
HRM
= the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees’ attitudes, behavior, performance
Or..
Human resource management is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to
obtain competitive advantage thought the strategic deployment of a highly committed and skilled
workforce, using an array of culture, structural and personnel techniques (Storey, 1995).
How do you make use of each of those practices to achieve companies performance/individual
performance
Programs, processes and techniques that actually get operationalized in the unit (Wright & Bos well,
2002)
-Things that happen
-Concrete ways in which people are managed in the organization
-Certain level of facticity
Vs
The actual functioning, observable activities, as experienced by employees (Boselie et al., 2005)
-Actual practices and experiences
-Observable..
Focus on five core HRM practices
- Employee relations and collective communication
- Recruitment and selection
- Performance management
- Rewards
- Training and development
Theme 1 : comparative HRM
Theme 2 : current trends and challenges
Theme 4 : understanding effects based on OB theories
Quiet quitting = I do what is expected and not more.
Quit quitting is about bad bosses, not bad employees
Great resignation : turnover rate are much higher after the pandemic
- You lose human capital you invested in
- You might need to pay more when rehiring
Etc.
Attract but also retain employees
>nowadays people have a more active attitude towards their job and satisfaction.
,Practice 1 : Employee relations and collective communication
= Employee relations concern matters of overarching employment or collective workforce policy, such
as bargaining (the traditional focus of industrial relations), and expression of the collective of
employees
Current trends and challenges
- Changes nature of work : remote working
- E-HRM
Importance of employee relations and collective communication for employee commitment and
retention -> e.g. exchange theory
Practice 2: Recruitment and selection
• One of the purposes of recruitment is to determine present and future staffing needs in conjunction
with job analysis and human resource planning
• Selection – a linked but separate practice after recruitment – then involves the identification of the
most suitable person from a pool of applicants
>Recruitment is about attracting people , selection is about choosing the right person for the job.
Current challenges
- Personnel shortages
- War for talent
Practice 3: Performance management
= Is about the conversation between line manager and employee about priorities and their
achievements
But also.. a HR designed process to align the workforce with the strategy
Current trends and challenges:
- HRM analytics
Effects on outcomes
- Expectancy theory
Practice 4 : Rewards
People are the largest single operating cost item of most businesses.
Using rewards to motivate employees and/or engender their active commitment or engagement
Current trends and challenges
- Bonuses
- Performance related pay
- Pay differences
Effects on outcomes : motivation theory,
efficiency wage theory
Total reward = Direct financial rewards + non-direct
of delayed financial rewards (like pension) + non-
financial rewards
Non-financial rewards:
- Learning and development
- Work environment
Practice 5 : Training and development
Training = the planned and systematic modification of behaviour through learning events, programs
and instruction which enables individuals to achieve the levels of knowledge, skill and competence to
carry out their work effectively. More short term
Development = the growth or realization of a person’s ability and potential through the provision of
learning and educational experiences. For the long run.
Current trends and challenges
, - Talent management
- Employability
- Learning organisation
Employee management paradox
= about investing in employees
What if we train them and they leave? What is we don’t and they stay?
>it’s about investing in your employee with training and development makes your employee also more
attractive for other companies. Then you will lose your investment in human resources.
Effect on outcomes : Psychological contract theory
= The employer expects more than what is written in the contract but the employee also get more than
just the paycheck.
Everything below the line psychological contract and above the line is the legal contract
Lecture 2 :
HRM in context : gaining insight in various theories, perspectives and models on the relationship
between HRM and (national) context
- Theoretical perspective
o Best fit versus best practices
o Universalistic, contingent, configurational and contextual perspectives
o Contextually based human resource theory
Empirical application
- CRANET
HRM practices differs in context
Three main approaches:
1. Cross-cultural management : HRM across cultures
2. International HRM : How HRM practices are implemented by one country that operates in
different countries (MNC’s).
3. Comparative HRM : Differences/similarities in HRM across countries
Relevance of studying HRM in context
>Business and management has globalized, a growing extensity, intensity and velocity of global
interactions associated with deepening impact, such that the effect of distant events can be highly
significant elsewhere.
-management should be international and outward-looking
-requirement to compare and learn from different nations and cultures
-MNCs need international management skills and knowledge transfer to subsidiaries
-strategic and governmental processes are international and global
, Best fit vs. Best practices
Best practice perspective there is one way to do it
= This perspective beliefs of the existence of one set of HRM practices that leads to superior
organizational performance
Related to so called High Performance Work Systems
- Ideal combination of practices
Best fit perspective
= Importance of fit between HRM practices and internal and external context
Effect of HRM practices dependent on for example fit with organizational strategy
When they are in line you will reach best performance
>But there might be underlying principles that work for all
Companies are moving to where wellbeing is also seen as an important outcome
Perspectives on HRM (Martin-Alcazar et al., 2008)
Universalistic
Best practices, deliver enhanced organizational performance
Organization as ‘black box’ what bundles of HRM practices can impact on performance
Example (Huettermann & Bruch)
Pfeffer (1998)
High performance work systems (HPWS)
Organizations realize that they need to retain
Contingent perspective
= the most appropriate style of management is dependent on the context of the situation. Add
intervening variables between HRM practice/outcome, usually strategy, organizational context,
external environment, or organizational learning capability
o mediators
