Personnel & Organization - CHAPTER 1
Management is the attainment of organizational goals (3) in an effective and efficient manner (2)
through planning (4), organizing (5), leading and controlling (6) organizational resources (1)
1. Managing’ people
● Human machines
o Avoid them going in overdrive (because they may go out of service)
o Maintenance (training) when needed and update them with new
developments
o What type of personnel to recruit?
▪ Work floor planning (who works where and when- shifts)
▪ Motivating workers
▪ Monitoring performances
‘Managing’ people: not alone
2. Excellent HR needs to be:
- Effective: do what you promised
- Efficient: within budget. Don't waste any extra money you didn't ask for
- Calculate: make business cases like other departments- Having a concrete plan,
calculating costs and returns are essential. For any project you should make sure to
calculate these in the best way possible. The better our business case; the more
likely we are to be funded by the fund of directors; thus try to calculate very well
your business prognosis.
3. ‘Managing’ people can be hard
● Shareholders invested in your business, so made it possible for you to do business.
Therefore, they want to see profits.
● If you want to do HR because you like people,go do something else. Become a nurse, a social
worker, but not HR…The decision is ruthless. Ethics are in the execution.
● Board of directors wants restructuring Dismissal disturbs lives and emotions of the staff
Execute hard decision as softly as possible,but do execute it (As part of the HR team you
have to make decisions and execute them; even if these decisions might deeply affect the
lives of the staff or your co-workers).
● If you want to do HR because you like people, finetune your (soft) skills,and train your (hard)
strategic skills.
,HR is not a charity…
Motivated, educated and properly led workers deliver better performances and contribute more to
the attainment of the organizational goals.
Focus on ‘managing
HR may be more a means than an end. We care about making people happy not really for the sake
of them being happy, but because we know it is going to benefit the organization.
HR’s first responsibility is with the organization.
4. Planning
• Strategic HRM
− Where do we want to go?
− Which positions do we need?
− Which competences? Which structures?
− Competitive position, continuity & strategy
− Decisions on top level, LT-perspective
• HR does not always have voting power
Paper versus reality
The example of the two merging companies
From processes to people you have administration and doing things on paper.
>And then from strategic focus to operational focus.
● We want HR to be a strategic partner and tell us what would be a sound decision.
● We need to help the organization take better strategical decisions.
● We know our business and we know what we are good at.
At the strategic level:
Planning- if we want to plan there are two main ways of doing it:
1. Positioning approach: This is an outside-in approach because the outside is what tells you
what to do, the market determines your strategy, the outside world tells you how you do
business.
- Our strategic decision will affect our lower operations; depending what our
strategies we will seek or hire people specialised on it. -Strategy changes your staff.
, 2. Resource-based approach: This is an inside-out approach- we first see what we have among
our own staff; what are we good at and then we do it.
-So our strategy is not focused on what others do but on what we are best at. Even if others
are doing it already; we are going to crush them because we excel on it.
-Your staff changes your strategy.
To sum up, we need to use a bit of both: consider what we are good at but also look at
the market. We need to be critical when looking at what others are doing; perhaps that
strategy works only for that specific company.
An example of the best practices is work from home vs company day care. Many companies will try
to use this, especially now with the corona situation (working from home) but maybe for your
specific company, instead of spending a lot of money on this, what would be more effective for the
workers is to just offer day care at the company. What seems like a ‘best practice’ regarding what
other companies are doing might not be the best approach for our own company.
5. Organizing
• This is tactical HRM: getting the strategic plans into practice.
• HR requires a more professional or individual impact: people who know the business well
and know what’s possible.
• We put into practice from Dave’s Model: change agent
• When, for example, two organizations merge, even if we advise them not to, we need to
adapt and create new cultures, structures and change the mindsets of people.
• As HR, after restructuring, our focus should be on the people who stayed instead of the ones
who left because these are the ones who are going to make profit, we need to make them
change their mindsets from a negative one to a positive one. We need to turn the business
around.
- The example of mobile television
6. Leading and controlling
Operational HRM
a. Most tangible for employees
b. Supervisors or HR
c. Daily activities, short term perspective
Leading
d. Motivate, direct, communicate goals
, Controlling (monitoring)
e. Functioning/evaluation interviews
• If you want to lead people: you need to be the one who knows them best.
• The better you understand these people; the better you can serve them.
Making a skills inventory
• Job title
• Experience
• Skills
• Training and diplomas
• Technical knowledge and languages
• Hobbies and demographic variables
• Licences and publications
• Self-stated career goals
This means you need to get to know your staff.
When you get to a company you need to ask yourself if you can make a skills inventory.
Good management
o Internal transfers
● External vacancy in another department
● Important to know your staff’s career goals;
● You can reposition them within the company and satisfy both your needs and
your staff’s wishes
o Focused HR-policies
● Having 80% of staff between 55-60
● Having 80% of staff between 30-35
● Why is this important? It allows you to know what kind of staff you have and
thus know how to steer it. For example, if your staff consists mainly of older
people; if they leave you will end up losing the ones with the most experience.
On the other hand, the younger people might be the ones caring for their
small children at the moment and thus being constricted to that.
o Knowing your staff enables resource-based approach
● Aware of own strengths. The skills inventory facilitates this.
● Timely work on weaknesses and opportunities- this allows us to know where
we can grow, for instance, if I know my staff is lacking something, I can train
them to prepare them for the future.
Management is the attainment of organizational goals (3) in an effective and efficient manner (2)
through planning (4), organizing (5), leading and controlling (6) organizational resources (1)
1. Managing’ people
● Human machines
o Avoid them going in overdrive (because they may go out of service)
o Maintenance (training) when needed and update them with new
developments
o What type of personnel to recruit?
▪ Work floor planning (who works where and when- shifts)
▪ Motivating workers
▪ Monitoring performances
‘Managing’ people: not alone
2. Excellent HR needs to be:
- Effective: do what you promised
- Efficient: within budget. Don't waste any extra money you didn't ask for
- Calculate: make business cases like other departments- Having a concrete plan,
calculating costs and returns are essential. For any project you should make sure to
calculate these in the best way possible. The better our business case; the more
likely we are to be funded by the fund of directors; thus try to calculate very well
your business prognosis.
3. ‘Managing’ people can be hard
● Shareholders invested in your business, so made it possible for you to do business.
Therefore, they want to see profits.
● If you want to do HR because you like people,go do something else. Become a nurse, a social
worker, but not HR…The decision is ruthless. Ethics are in the execution.
● Board of directors wants restructuring Dismissal disturbs lives and emotions of the staff
Execute hard decision as softly as possible,but do execute it (As part of the HR team you
have to make decisions and execute them; even if these decisions might deeply affect the
lives of the staff or your co-workers).
● If you want to do HR because you like people, finetune your (soft) skills,and train your (hard)
strategic skills.
,HR is not a charity…
Motivated, educated and properly led workers deliver better performances and contribute more to
the attainment of the organizational goals.
Focus on ‘managing
HR may be more a means than an end. We care about making people happy not really for the sake
of them being happy, but because we know it is going to benefit the organization.
HR’s first responsibility is with the organization.
4. Planning
• Strategic HRM
− Where do we want to go?
− Which positions do we need?
− Which competences? Which structures?
− Competitive position, continuity & strategy
− Decisions on top level, LT-perspective
• HR does not always have voting power
Paper versus reality
The example of the two merging companies
From processes to people you have administration and doing things on paper.
>And then from strategic focus to operational focus.
● We want HR to be a strategic partner and tell us what would be a sound decision.
● We need to help the organization take better strategical decisions.
● We know our business and we know what we are good at.
At the strategic level:
Planning- if we want to plan there are two main ways of doing it:
1. Positioning approach: This is an outside-in approach because the outside is what tells you
what to do, the market determines your strategy, the outside world tells you how you do
business.
- Our strategic decision will affect our lower operations; depending what our
strategies we will seek or hire people specialised on it. -Strategy changes your staff.
, 2. Resource-based approach: This is an inside-out approach- we first see what we have among
our own staff; what are we good at and then we do it.
-So our strategy is not focused on what others do but on what we are best at. Even if others
are doing it already; we are going to crush them because we excel on it.
-Your staff changes your strategy.
To sum up, we need to use a bit of both: consider what we are good at but also look at
the market. We need to be critical when looking at what others are doing; perhaps that
strategy works only for that specific company.
An example of the best practices is work from home vs company day care. Many companies will try
to use this, especially now with the corona situation (working from home) but maybe for your
specific company, instead of spending a lot of money on this, what would be more effective for the
workers is to just offer day care at the company. What seems like a ‘best practice’ regarding what
other companies are doing might not be the best approach for our own company.
5. Organizing
• This is tactical HRM: getting the strategic plans into practice.
• HR requires a more professional or individual impact: people who know the business well
and know what’s possible.
• We put into practice from Dave’s Model: change agent
• When, for example, two organizations merge, even if we advise them not to, we need to
adapt and create new cultures, structures and change the mindsets of people.
• As HR, after restructuring, our focus should be on the people who stayed instead of the ones
who left because these are the ones who are going to make profit, we need to make them
change their mindsets from a negative one to a positive one. We need to turn the business
around.
- The example of mobile television
6. Leading and controlling
Operational HRM
a. Most tangible for employees
b. Supervisors or HR
c. Daily activities, short term perspective
Leading
d. Motivate, direct, communicate goals
, Controlling (monitoring)
e. Functioning/evaluation interviews
• If you want to lead people: you need to be the one who knows them best.
• The better you understand these people; the better you can serve them.
Making a skills inventory
• Job title
• Experience
• Skills
• Training and diplomas
• Technical knowledge and languages
• Hobbies and demographic variables
• Licences and publications
• Self-stated career goals
This means you need to get to know your staff.
When you get to a company you need to ask yourself if you can make a skills inventory.
Good management
o Internal transfers
● External vacancy in another department
● Important to know your staff’s career goals;
● You can reposition them within the company and satisfy both your needs and
your staff’s wishes
o Focused HR-policies
● Having 80% of staff between 55-60
● Having 80% of staff between 30-35
● Why is this important? It allows you to know what kind of staff you have and
thus know how to steer it. For example, if your staff consists mainly of older
people; if they leave you will end up losing the ones with the most experience.
On the other hand, the younger people might be the ones caring for their
small children at the moment and thus being constricted to that.
o Knowing your staff enables resource-based approach
● Aware of own strengths. The skills inventory facilitates this.
● Timely work on weaknesses and opportunities- this allows us to know where
we can grow, for instance, if I know my staff is lacking something, I can train
them to prepare them for the future.
