HRM Discussion Questions

Human Resource Management

Submitted By: Umair Awan

MBA (Evening) ID: 4103

CHAPTER ONE: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS/ANSWERS

1. Explain what HR management is and how it relates to the management process?

Answer:

HRM is the management of people working in an organization, it is a subject related to

human. For simplicity, we can say that it is the management of humans or people. HRM

is a managerial function that tries to match an organization’s needs to the skills and

abilities of its employees. Human Resource Management is responsible for how people

are managed in the organizations. It is responsible for bringing people in organization

helping them perform their work, compensating them for their work and solving

problems that arise.

Functions of HRM:

Basic functions that all managers perform: planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and

controlling. HR management involves the policies and practices needed to carry out the

staffing (or people) function of management. HRM department regardless of the

organization’s size must perform following human resource management functions…

• Staffing (HR planning, recruitment and selection)

• Human resource development

• Compensation and benefits

• Safety and health

• Employee and labor relations

• Records maintaining, etc.

• HR research (providing a HR information base, designing and implementing

employee communication system).

• Interrelationship of HR functions.

2. Give examples of how HR management concepts & techniques can be of use to all

managers?

Answer:

Perhaps it’s easier to answer this by listing some of the personnel mistakes you don’t

want to make while managing.

Helps you avoid common personnel mistakes:

Qualified HR mangers utilize organization resources in such a way that helps to avoid

common personnel mistakes like the following…

a. Hiring the wrong person for the job

b. Experiencing high turnover

c. Finding employees not doing their best

d. Having your company taken to court because of your discriminatory actions

e. Having your company cited under federal occupational safety laws for unsafe practices

f. Allowing a lack of training to undermine your department’s effectiveness

g. Committing any unfair labor practices




3. Explain the difference between line authority and staff authority. What type of

authority do human resource managers have?

Answer:

Authority is the right to make decisions, to direct the work of others, and to give orders.

Line managers are authorized to direct the work of subordinates and are directly in charge

of accomplishing the organization’s basic goals. Staff managers are authorized to assist

and advise line managers in accomplishing these basic goals. Human resource managers

are usually staff managers because they are responsible for assisting and advising line

managers in areas like recruiting, hiring, and compensation. However, human resource

managers do have line authority within their own department.

4. Why is it important for companies today to make their human resources into a

competitive advantage? Explain how HR can contribute to doing this.

Answer:

Among all the resources possessed by the organizations it is only Manpower or the

Human resources that create the real difference. Because all organizations can have the

same technology, they can possess same type of financial resources, same sort of raw

material can be used to produce the goods and services but the organizational source that

can really create the difference is work force of the organization. Therefore they are the

main sources of innovation creativity in the organizations that can be used as a

competitive advantage. In today’s competitive environment, these are the people which

can create competitive advantageous for the organizations. The world around us is

changing. No longer can we consider our share of the “good Life” given. If we are to

maintain some semblance of that life, we as individual, as organizations, as society will

have to fight actively for it an increasingly competitive global environment. If

organizations are able to manage its work force efficiently/effectively this will be

beneficial for all stakeholders (Organization, Employees and Society).

CHAPTER TWO: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS/ANSWERS

1. Explain how human resources management can be instrumental in helping a

company create a competitive advantage.

Answer:

Managers use the term “human resource strategies” to refer to the specific human

resource management courses of action the company pursues to achieve its strategic

aims. For example, one of FedEx’s strategic aims is to achieve superior levels of

customer service and high profitability through highly committed workforce, preferably

in a nonunion environment. FedEx’s human resources strategies stem from this aim. They

include: using various tools to build two-way communications; screening out potential

managers whose values are not people-oriented; guaranteeing to the greatest extent

possible fair treatment and employees security for all employees; and utilizing various




promotion-from-within activities to give employees every opportunity to fully realize

their potential. So Strategic human resource management means formulating and

executing human resource policies and practices that produce the employee competencies

and behaviors the company needs to achieve its strategic aims.

2. What is a High-Performance Work System? Explain the effects of such a system.

Answer:

A high-performance work system is what managers now expect from the HR system. It

means that the HR system is designed to maximize the overall quality of human capital

throughout the organization. Based on ongoing research, firms that use HPWS practices

perform at a significantly higher level than those that do not.

3. What is the HR Scorecard approach? Identify the seven steps in using the HR

Scorecard approach to create a strategy-oriented HR system.

Answer: The HR Scorecard is a concise measurement system that shows the quantitative standards

or “metrics” the firm uses to measure HR activities, and to measure the employee

behaviors resulting from these activities, and to measure the strategically relevant

organizational outcomes of those employee behaviors. The seven steps are as follows:

Step 1: Define the business strategy

Step 2: Outline the company’s value chain

Step 3: Identify the strategically required organizational outcomes

Step 4: Identify the required workforce competencies and behaviors

Step 5: Identify the strategically relevant HR system policies and activities

Step 6: Design the HR Scorecard measurement system

Step 7: Periodically evaluate the measurement system

CHAPTER THREE: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS/ANSWERS

1. What items are typically included in the job description? What items are typically

not shown?

Answer:

The employer almost always uses the job analysis to (at least) produce a job description.

A job description is a written statement of what the worker actually does, how he or she

does it, and what the job’s working conditions are. You use this information to write a job

specification; this lists the knowledge, abilities and skills required to perform the job

satisfactorily.

There is no standard format for writing a job description. However, most descriptions

contain sections that cover;

i. Job identification




ii. Job summary

iii. Responsibilities and duties

iv. Authority of incumbent

v. Standards of performance

vi. Working conditions

vii. Job specification

2. What is job analysis? How can you make use of the information it provides?

Answer:

Job analysis provides information for recruitment and selection by laying out what the

job entails and what human characteristics are required to perform these activities. This

information helps management decide what sort of people to recruit and hire. Job analysis

information is also crucial for estimating the value of each job and its appropriate

compensation. A performance appraisal compares each employee’s actual performance

with his or her performance standards. Managers use job analysis to determine the job’s

specific activities and performance standards.

3. We discussed several methods for collecting job analysis data – questionnaires, the

position analysis questionnaire, and so on. Compare and contrast these methods,

explaining what each is useful for and listing the pros and cons of each.

Answer:

Interview:

Interviews are relatively simple and quick way to collect data. Skilled

interviewers can gather information that might otherwise go undiscovered. Some

activities might occur only occasionally or be more informal in nature. Interviews can

discover these types of activities. The interview also offers an opportunity to explain the

need for a job analysis. The biggest drawback is the chance for information to be

distorted either to outright falsification or honest misunderstanding.

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ): The advantage of the PAQ is that it provides a quantitative score or profile of any job

in terms of how that job rates on five basic activities: 1) having decision-making/

communication/ social responsibilities, 2) performing skilled activities, 3) being

physically active, 4) operating vehicles/ equipment, and 5) processing information. Its

real strength is in classifying jobs. Jobs can then be compared quantitatively.

4. Describe the types of information typically found in a job specification.

Answer:

The job specification takes the job description and answer the question, “what human

traits and experience are required to do this job well?” Its shows what kind of person to

recruit and for what qualities that person should be tested. The job specification may be a

section of job description, or a spate document entirely.




Different steps are involved in job specification:

Step 1: Analyze the job and decide how to measure job performance. Step 2: Select

personal traits like finger dexterity that you believe should predict successful

performance. Step 3: Test candidates for these traits. Step 4: Measure these candidates’

subsequent job performance. Step 5: Statistically analyze the relationship between the

human trait and job performance.

5. Explain how you would conduct a job analysis?

Answer:

There are six steps in doing a job analysis. Step 1 is to decide how one will use the

information. Step 2 is to review relevant background information such as organization

charts, process charts, and job descriptions. Step 3 is to select representative positions.

Step 4 is to analyze the job by collecting data on job activities, required employee

behaviors, working conditions, and human traits and abilities needed to perform the job.

Step 5 is to verify the job analysis information with the worker performing the job and

with his or her immediate supervisor. Step 6 is to develop a job description and job

specification.

HRM Discussion Questions

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