Farah Ahmed Wahsh 512291859

Chapter 1 - Summary

Organisation > Manager

Manager: someone who manages the efforts of people in an organisation in order to
achieve their organisational goals.

Management Functions:
Planning > Organizing > Staffing > Leading > Controlling

HRM Activities:
1. Job Analysis (what’s the nature of the job we’re recruiting for?)
2. Selecting Job Candidates
3. Training and onboarding new employees
4. Compensation Plans, Salaries, Incentives..etc
5. Building good relationships with employees to make them more committed

Why is HRM important?

1. Avoid Personnel Mistakes (ex. Hiring the wrong person for a job, useless interviews,
unfair salaries, employees aren’t committed or not doing their best, committing unfair
labor practices..etc)
2. Improve Profit & Performance
3. All entrepreneurs need to learn more HR practices.

Authority: the right to make decisions and give orders to others or assist them.
There are 2 types of authority:
- Line Authority: giving orders to other employees or managers
- Staff Authority (assisting or giving advice to other employees or managers

The 3 HRM Functions:

1. Line Functions: Line Authority on people in my department.
2. Coordinative Functions: coordinate all the line managers’ personnel activities =
coordinate all the efforts in all departments related to HR functions
3. Staff Functions: assisting & giving advice to line managers.

HRM Specialists:
1. Job Analyst: prepares the job descriptions + job specifications
2. Recruiter (Acquisition Specialist): search for the qualified candidates
3. Equal Employment Opportunity coordinator (EEO): examines any violations & submit
EEO reports
4. Compensation Managers: develop compensation plans, incentives, fair salaries,
employee benefit programs..etc
5. Training Specialist: training and onboarding new employees
6. Labor Relations Specialist: union management relations (build good relationships
with employees, PR, events..etc)
Trends Shaping HRM:
1. Globalization: extending the company to new markets abroad.
- Which means more competition, requiring local employees to acquire global
skills
- Benefit: lower prices to consumers + more productive & skilled employees
- Threat: less secure jobs, employee has to earn remaining in that position
2. Technological: technological skills are now need everywhere.
3. Trends in the nature of work: ex. High-tech jobs & service jobs (a job where we
provide services to other people)
4. Knowledge work & Human Capital: looking for certain skills (ex. Critical
5. thinning or Information Technology) rather than only looking for experience
6. Demographic Trends:
- Calling retirees to continue working after retirement (ex. For consulting)
- Non-traditional workers that work in alternative work arrangements (ex.
part-time workers or multi-national workers)
Farah Ahmed Wahsh 512291859
Chapter 2 - Summary
Job Analysis: the process of determining the duties of every position and
characteristics/skills of the people to hire. (Job Description + Job Specification)

Type of info Job Analyst looks for:

1. Work Activities: how, why & when the job/work activities are performed?
2. Human Behaviours: what behaviours does this job need?
3. Machines, tools & equipments: what machines, tools or work aids does the person
we’re hiring need to know how to deal with?
4. Performance Standards (Job KPIs)
5. Job Context: info that the person we’re hiring needs to know about (ex. Physical
working conditions, who they work with, work schedules, incentives..etc)
6. Human Requirements: what are the skills we’re looking for or required personal
attributes (personality, interests..etc)

What does the Job Analyst use this info for?

The output is an input to all the rest HRM functions where this info is used in:
1. Recruitment & Selection: deciding who’s qualified to be hired based on the info
collected
2. Performance Appraisal: comparing the employees’ actual performance to their
performance standards.
3. Compensation: usually depends on the job’s required skills, educational level,
experience..etc
4. Training: what trainings will this employee need?

Job Analysis Process:

1. Decide how this info will be used:
Info is collected either by:
- Interviews (good for writing job descriptions, used in case of a small number
of employees)
- Questionnaires (used in case of a larger number of employees, good to
compare jobs for compensation purposes)
2. Review relevant background info such as organisation charts (shows every title &
who reports to who), process charts (provides more detailed picture of workflow) &
job descriptions
3. Select representative positions: select a sample of employees to analyse their jobs
4. Analyse the data collected on job activities, working conditions, human traits &
abilities needed to perform that job
5. Verify the job analysis info with the worker performing, the job & his immediate
supervisor
6. Develop the job descriptions & job specifications
Methods for collecting the Job Analysis info:
1. Interview
- Structured interviews: structured questions on the general purpose of the job,
supervisory responsibilities, job duties, education..etc
- Pros: simple & quick way to gather info
- Cons: distortion of info because employees aren’t always honest
2. Questionnaires:
- Pros: Can be used to gather info from a larger number of employees, less
costly
- Cons: distortion of info + some employees may not understand the questions
which may be time consuming or distort their answers if they choose not to
ask
3. Observation:
- Direct observation is appropriate for physical activities only (not mental)
- Usually done along interviewing people
- No distortion of info
4. Participant/Diary Logs: to keep a diary/log of what activities employees do
throughout their day

Quantitative Job Analysis Techniques:

1. Writing a job description: the most important product of the job analysis.
- Job Identification: the job title, what department it’s in..etc
- Job Summary: a short paragraph about the job & its purpose
- Responsibilities & Duties: tasks of the job, time consumed to perform every
task, actions performed..etc
- Authority of Incumbent: who I report to, who I supervise, who I
communicate with..etc
- Standards of Performance: KPIs (Key Performance Indicators): targets,
working hours..etc
- Working Conditions: any specific working conditions must be written,
location (indoor/outdoor), hazards subjected to if any..etc
- Job Specification: skills, experience, abilities, training programs..etc

Specifications based on Judgment:

- Done by HRM & Supervisors.
- Based on their judgement, what does it take in terms of education, training..etc to do
this job well?
- They review the job duties & tasks to set what traits & skills are needed for the job
- There are also websites that have job specifications listed for every job description

Use Common Sense:

Ex. it doesn’t make sense that one could finish tasks like a business or training plan in a
couple of hours. Exaggerated behaviour shouldn’t be ignored.
Competency-Based Job Analysis: describing the job in terms of measurable, observable
& behavioural competencies (knowledge, skills, behaviour)
- There are also general competencies (ex. writing, reading skills, computer skills..etc),
leadership competencies (ex. Leadership skills, problem solving skills..etc), technical
competencies (ex. Create prototypes)
Farah Ahmed Wahsh 512291859
Chapter 3 - Summary

Workforce Planning & Forecasting Process

1. Forecasting Personnel Needs (Labor Demand)
Trend Analysis: studying the variations in the firm employment in order to estimate
future staffing needs.
Ratio Analysis: Forecasting based on the relationship (historical ratio) between 2
variables.
The Scatter Plot: Forecasting based on the relationship between 2 variables
graphically along the ratio analysis.
2. Forecasting the supply of inside candidates:
- We start with inside candidates because they are more familiar with the
company
- The main task is to determine the most qualified current employees for the
projected openings
3. Forecasting the supply of outside candidates: we turn to outside candidates
when inside candidates are not enough to fill the projected openings or do not meet
the qualifications

4. Developing an action plan to match projected supply with projected demand &
filling the gaps

Effective Recruiting
Attracting applicants for open positions to create a pool of applicants.

- Recruiting is challenging due to 1) the type of the job, 2) sometimes the success of
recruiting doesn’t always depend on recruitment issues and policies, 3) employment
laws.
- There are 2 sources for candidates: Internal & External
1. Internal Sources for Candidates:
- We can fill our open positions with our inside candidates because
we’ve already interviewed them, we know their strengths and
weaknesses, they also require less trainings, they are more loyal to
the company
- 3 methods for internal recruiting: Job posting or Rehiring or
Succession Planning (this is only for filling top positions/for top
managers)
2. External Sources for Candidates:
- Recruiting via internet is by far the recruiting source of choice for most
employers (ex. Through website)
- Other online recruiting practices (ex. Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter)
- Advertising in business magazines or local papers, where employers
should address 2 issues: advertising medium & advertising
construction.
- Employment agencies: Public agencies, Non-profit organisations,
Private owned agencies
- Executive Recruiters (Headhunters): special employment agencies
that seek out top management talent & hunt them by for example
doubling their salaries
- College Recruiting: creating an applicant pool of fresh-graduates
(advantage: lower salaries)
- Referrals & Walk-ins (Part Time/Freelancers)
- Offshoring & Outsourcing
Offshoring: basing some of the company’s services outside the
country (ex. Offshoring my Sales team) for lower costs
Outsourcing: vendors supply services outside the company (ex.
Market research)