Human Resource Management, Ivancevich - Downloadable Solutions Manual (Revised)

Chapter 1
Human Resource Management



CHAPTER Overview

This chapter introduces the field of human resource management, its strategic function within
an organization, and the careers that are available therein.
In the introduction of this field, HRM is defined as… the function or unit in organizations that
facilitates the most effective utilization of human resources to achieve the objectives of both the
organization and the employees.
Highlighted are the differences between the responsibilities of an operating manager and the
HR manager, with whom the responsibility for such things as hiring, discipline, training and
orientation are shared. It also explores the increasing responsibilities of the human resource
field, which are directly related to the global workplace and changing technology.
A special appendix to this chapter describes typical careers in HRM, suggests ways that HR
specialists can achieve greater professionalism, and describes accreditation procedures.

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, students should be able to…
1. Describe the term human resource management.
2. Describe the strategic importance of human resource management (HRM) activities.
3. Give examples of what career opportunities are available in the HRM field.
4. Discuss the role that specialists and operating managers play in performing HRM
activities.
5. List the main objectives pursued by HRM units.



KEY TERMS

Key terms are shown in bold, as they appear in the text, throughout the lecture notes.

,Discussion and Project Ideas

 Discussion ideas:
 Ask students to recall HR policies or procedures that they encountered on the
job that they felt favored management over the employees, or visa versa. For
instance, are employees allowed to offer a rebuttal to a bad performance review?
Are employees expected to take a pay cut to offset company expanses while the
salaries of management remain unchanged? Do bonuses go to all employees or only
to upper management?
 Discuss how standard operating procedures might differ from industry to
industry. For instance, would the SOP for prison personnel differ from those
developed for restaurant employees? Are there any policies that might overlap? For
instance, the handling of customer complaints or dealing with sexual harassment
situations.
 Outsourcing of all types of jobs is increasing. Is this a good trend or a bad one?
From whose perspective? Does it make a difference if the resource is local? For
instance, is it a plus or a minus for company calls to be rerouted to call centers in
India?
 Projects and/or reports:
 Have students write a report detailing the work environment in which they
would most enjoy working. For instance, do they want a desk job and an air
conditioned office? Do they like working outdoors? Do they object to a noise
environment? Do they prefer a “thinking” job, or one in which they have a quota?
The objective is to have students think about how their work environment
preferences might affect their career choices.

,Lecture OUTLINE


Introduction
 This book focuses on people and optimizing performance in organizational settings.
 The entire book will be concerned with the employees of organizationsclerks,
technicians, software engineers, product designers, supervisors, managers, and
executives
 Large, medium, and small organizations must optimize the return on investment
of all resourcesfinancial and human.
 When an organization is really concerned about people, its philosophy, culture, and
orientation all reflect the belief.
 Human resource management (HRM)
 Facilitates the most effective use of people to achieve organizational and
personal goals
 Requires the involvement of every manager in every department
 Personnel, human resource management, industrial relations, employee development, and
personnel department have all been used to describe the unit, department, or group
concerned about people.
 The most current term, human resource management, is used in this book
because it reflects the increased concern society and organizations have for people.
 Human Resource Management (HRM) consists of numerous activities, including
 Equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance
 Job analysis
 Human resource planning
 Employee recruitment, selection, motivation, and orientation
 Performance evaluation and compensation
 Training and development
 Labor relations
 Safety, health, and wellness
 The following four descriptions of the HRM unit should be stressed at the outset:
 It is action-oriented
 It is people-oriented

,  It is globally oriented
 It is future-oriented