Human Resources

Module 8
LIS 580: Spring 2006
Instructor- Michael Crandall
 Roadmap
• The Human Resources environment
• The Human Resources management
process
• Recruiting
• Interviewing
• Training
• Disciplining
• Legal and ethical concerns
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 2
 Human Resources (HR)
Management
• Human Resources (HR) Management
– The management function devoted to
acquiring, training, appraising, and
compensating employees.
• Strategic Human Resource
Management
– The linking of the human resource function
with the company’s strategies to
accomplish that strategy.
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 3

WorkUSA 2002 & Malden Mills
• WorkUSA 2002 study showed:
– Trust levels dropping within organizations
– HR functions emphasizing effectiveness of
employees key to increased trust.
– Less than half of employees say businesses
manage changes well.
– Communication is miserable, especially related to
pay.
– Employees don’t get linkage between corporate
strategy and their jobs.
– Linkage of performance rewards to business goals
is not effective.
• How is Malden Mills different?
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 4
 The Human Resources
Management Environment

Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 5

 The Basic HR Process

FIGURE 9–1
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 6

 Personnel Planning
• The process by which management ensures
it has the right number and kinds of people in
the right places at the right time, who are
capable of helping the organization achieve
its goals
• Steps in the planning process:
1. Assessing current human resources
2. Assessing future human resources needs and
developing a program to meet those needs

Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 7

 Steps in the Recruitment and
Selection (staffing) Process

FIGURE 9–2
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 8

Management Personnel Replacement Chart

FIGURE 9–5
G.Dessler, 2003
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 9
 Writing Job Descriptions And
Recruiting Employees
• Staffing
– Filling a firm’s open positions; also, the
personnel process that includes six steps:
• job analysis
• personnel planning
• recruiting
• interviewing
• testing and selection
• training and development
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 10

 Job Analysis
• Job Analysis
– The procedure used to determine the duties of
particular jobs and the kinds of people (in terms of
skills and experience) who should be hired for
them.
• Job Specification
– The human qualifications in terms of traits, skills,
and experiences required to accomplish a job.
• Job Description
– A document that identifies a particular job, provides
a brief job summary, and lists specific
responsibilities and duties of the job.
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 11

 Checklist 9.1
Job Analysis Questions
 What is the job being performed?
 What are the major duties of your position?
What exactly do you do?
 What are the education, experience, skill, and
[where applicable] certification and licensing
requirements?
 In what activities do you participate now?
 What are the job’s responsibilities and duties?
 What are the basic accountabilities or
performance standards that typify your work?
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 12

 Checklist 9.1 (cont’d)
Job Analysis Questions
 What are your responsibilities?
 What are the environmental and
working conditions involved?
 What are the job’s physical demands?
Its emotional and mental demands?
 What are the health and safety
conditions?
 Does the job expose you to any
hazards or unusual working
conditions?
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 13

 Employee Recruiting
• Recruiting
– Attracting a pool of viable job applicants.

G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 14

 Sources of Recruits
• Current employees • College recruiting
• Advertising • Recruiting for a
• The Internet diverse workforce
• Employment agencies
– Public
– Private
• Contingent workers
and temporary help
agencies
• Executive recruiters
• Employee referrals
• Walk-ins
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 15

 Testing for Employee Selection
• Uses of Tests
– Reliability (repeatability of test results)
– Validity (measures what it purports to measure)
• Types of Tests
– Intelligence
– Mechanical comprehension
– Personality and interests
– Ability/achievement (current
capabilities/knowledge)
– Aptitude (performance potential)
– Management assessment center
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 16

 Conducting Effective Interviews
• Plan the interview
• Structure the interview
• Establish rapport
• Ask effective questions
• Delay your decision
• Close the interview

G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 17

 Guidelines for Interviewees
• Prepare
• Make a good first impression
• Uncover the interviewer’s needs
• Relate your answers to the interviewer’s
needs
• Think before answering
• Watch your nonverbal behavior

G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 18

 Potential Biases in Interviews
• Prior knowledge about the applicant will bias
the interviewer’s evaluation
• The interviewer tends to hold a stereotype of
what represents a good applicant
• The interviewer tends to favor applicants who
share his or her own attitudes
• The order in which applicants are interviewed
will influence evaluations
• The order in which information is elicited
during the interview will influence evaluations
Prentice Hall, 2002
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 19
 Potential Biases in Interviews
(cont’d)
• Negative information is given unduly high weight
• The interviewer may make a decision concerning the
applicant’s suitability within the first four or five
minutes of the interview
• The interviewer may forget much of the interview’s
content within minutes after its conclusion
• The interview is most valid in determining an
applicant’s intelligence, level of motivation, and
interpersonal skills
• Structured and well-organized interviews are more
reliable than unstructured and unorganized ones

Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 20

 Orienting Employees
• Orientation
– The introduction of a new employee to the
job and the organization
• Objectives of orientation
– To reduce the initial anxiety all new
employees feel as they begin a new job
– To familiarize new employees with the job,
the work unit, and the organization as a
whole
– To facilitate the outsider–insider transition
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 21
 Training Employees
• Training Program
– The process of providing new employees
with information they need to do their jobs
satisfactorily.
• Training Program Steps
– Needs analysis
– Instructional design
– Validation
– Implementation
– Evaluation and follow-up
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 22

 Employee Training
• What and Why?
– Changing skills, knowledge, attitudes, or behavior.
– Changing what employees know, how they work; or their
attitudes toward their jobs, co-workers, managers, and the
organization
• On-the-Job Training Methods
– Job rotation
– Understudy assignments
• Off-the-Job Training Methods
– Classroom lectures
– Films and videos
– Simulation exercises
– Vestibule training
Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 23

 Determining if Training Is Needed

Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 24

 Performance Management
and Measurement
• Performance management system
– A process of establishing performance standards
and evaluating performance in order to arrive at
objective human resource decisions and to provide
documentation to support personnel actions
• Adjective rating scales
– Rating an individual on each job performance
factor on an incremental scale
• 360-degree appraisal
– An appraisal device that seeks feedback from a
variety of sources for the person being rated
Prentice Hall, 2002
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 25
 Performance Management
and Measurement (cont.)
• Group-order ranking
– Requires the evaluator to place employees into a particular
classification such as “top fifth” or “second fifth”
• Individual ranking approach
– Requires the evaluator merely to list the employees in order
from highest to lowest
• Paired comparison approach
– Each employee is compared with every other employee in
the comparison group and rated as either the superior or
weaker member of the pair
– Each employee is assigned a summary ranking based on the
number of superior scores achieved
• MBO
– Employees are evaluated by how well they accomplish a
specific set of objectives determined to be critical in the
successful completion of their jobs
Prentice Hall, 2002
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 26
 Performance Appraisal Form

Source: Gary Dessler,

Human Resource
Management, 9th ed. (Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-
FIGURE 9–13
Hall, 2000), p.90. G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 27

 Checklist 9.5
How to Conduct the Appraisal Interview

 Prepare for the interview.

 Be direct and specific.
 Don’t get personal.
 Encourage the person to talk.
 Don’t tiptoe around.

G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 28

When Performance Falls Short
• Performance impediments
– Mismatched skills
– Inadequate training
– Employee’s personal problems
• Discipline
– Actions taken by a manager to enforce an
organization’s standards and regulations
• Employee counseling
– A process designed to help employees
overcome performance-related problems
Prentice Hall, 2002
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 29
 Jack Stack and Scott Berkun
• What does Stack point out about the problems with
most performance reviews?
• How does he use his reviews to help his staff improve
performance?
• Stack is a CEO, reviewing high-level directors. How
do you think his approach would work at lower levels
of the organization?
• He doesn’t file any paperwork or other
documentation. Do you see any issues with this in
the long term?
• What does Berkun see as the main job of a manager?
• How does Berkun’s advice compare with Stack’s
approach?

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 30

 Compensation And Benefits
• Compensation administration
– Determining a cost-effective pay structure that will
attract and retain competent employees, provide
an incentive for them to work hard, and ensure that
pay levels will be perceived as fair
• Factors influencing pay levels
– Employee’s job
– Kind of business
– Environment surrounding the job
– Geographic location
– Employee performance levels and seniority

Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 31
 Types of Employee Benefits
• Social Security
• Workers’ and unemployment
compensations
• Paid time off from work
• Life and disability insurance
• Retirement programs
• Health insurance
• Non-financial rewards designed to
enrich employees’ lives
Prentice Hall, 2002
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 32
 Discipline and Grievances
• FRACT Model
– A multi-step procedure for assessing the
need for discipline:
• Get the Facts
• Find the Reason
• Audit the records
• Pinpoint Consequences
• Identify the Type of infraction.

G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 33

 Discipline and Grievances
(cont’d)
• Discipline without Punishment
– A multistage disciplinary technique that uses oral
reminders of the violated rule; then written
reminders; followed by a paid one-day leave; and
finally, if the behavior is not corrected, dismissal.
• Grievance
– A complaint that an employee
lodges against an employer,
usually one regarding wages,
hours, or some condition of
employment, such as unfair
supervisory behavior.
G.Dessler, 2003
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 34
 Checklist 9.6
Guidelines for Disciplining an Employee

 Make sure the evidence supports the charge.

 Protect the employee’s due process rights.
 Warn the employee of the disciplinary
consequences.
 The rule allegedly violated should be
“reasonably related” to the efficient and safe
operation of the work environment.
 Fairly and adequately investigate the matter.
 Be sure there is substantial evidence of
misconduct.
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 35

 Checklist 9.6 (cont’d)
Guidelines for Disciplining an Employee
 Apply rules, orders, or penalties even-
handedly.
 Make sure the penalty is reasonably related to
the misconduct and to the employee’s past
work history.
 Maintain the employee’s right to counsel.
 Don’t rob your subordinate of his or her
dignity.
 Remember that the burden of proof is on you.
 Get the facts. Don’t base your decision on
hearsay or “general impression.”
 Don’t act while angry.
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 36

 Summary of Important Equal
Employment Opportunity Legislation
• Title VII of 1964 Civil Rights • Pregnancy Discrimination
Act, as amended Act of 1978
• Executive orders • Vietnam Era Veteran’s
• Federal agency guidelines Readjustment Assistance
• Supreme court decisions: Act of 1974
– Griggs v. Duke Power Co., • Wards Cove v. Antonio;
Albemarle v. Moody Patterson v. McLean Credit
• Equal Pay Act of 1967 Union
• Age Discrimination in • Morton v. Wilks
Employment Act of 1967 • Americans with Disabilities
• State and local laws Act of 1990
• Vocational Rehabilitation • Civil Rights Act of 1991
Act of 1973
Source: Gary Dessler, Human Resource Management, 7th
ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2000), p.52. G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 37

 Affirmative Action
• Affirmative Action
– A legislated requirement that employers
make an extra effort to hire and promote
those in a protected (women or minority)
group.

G.Dessler, 2003
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 38
 Improving Workforce Diversity
• Widen the recruiting net to broaden the
pool of applicants
• Ensure the selection process is
nondiscriminatory
• Assist new employees in assimilating
into the firm’s culture
• Conduct specialized orientations and
workshops for new employees
Prentice Hall, 2002

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 39

 Diversity as Policy
• What do these statistics point out about
the current state of diversity in our
organizations?
• Have you seen evidence of this in your
own work?
• Why is marketing seen as so important
in encouraging diversity? Do you
agree?

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 40

 Labor–Management Relations
• Norris–LaGuardia Act
– Guarantees each employee the right to bargain with
employers for union benefits.
• Wagner Act
– Outlaws unfair labor practices such as employers interfering
with, restraining, or coercing employees who are exercising
their legally sanctioned rights of organizing themselves into a
union.
• The Taft–Hartley Act
– Prohibits unfair labor practices by unions against employers
(like refusing to bargain with the employer).
• The Landrum-Griffin Act
– Protects union members from unfair practices perpetrated
against them by their unions.
G.Dessler, 2003

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 41

 Layoffs and Downsizing
• Layoff-survivor sickness
– The set of attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of
employees who remain after involuntary staff
reductions
• Dealing with the “Survivor Syndrome”
– Provide opportunities for employees to talk to
counselors about their guilt, anger, and anxiety
– Provide group discussions for the survivors to vent
their feelings
– Implement employee participation programs such
as empowerment and self-managed work teams
Prentice Hall, 2002
April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 42
 Next Time
• Guest Lecturer: Cara Wilson from
Teams and Leaders
– We’ll be looking at some practical cases of
organizational dynamics, and some
techniques consultants use to examine
and change them
– Read the assigned article for some ideas
for questions, and bring your own from the
past week’s readings and discussions

April 20, 2006 LIS580- Spring 2006 43