Human Resource

Management
HRM is the function of management
concerned with promoting and enhancing
the development of work effectiveness
and advancement of human resources in
the organization through proper planning,
organizing, directing, coordinating and
controlling of activities related to
procurement, development, motivation
and compensation of employees to
achieve the goals of the enterprise.
General HRM Functions
and Activities
 Human Resource Planning – Planning for
HR needs and staffing the manpower needs
of the organization. Activities include Job
design and analysis, recruiting, selection,
placement, succession planning and
separation.

 Human Resource Maintenance –

Appraising and compensating employee
behavior. Activities include performance
appraisal, compensation and benefit
administration.
 Human Resource Development –
Improving employees and the work
environment. Activities include training and
development, safety and health

 Human Resource Utilization –

Establishing and maintaining effective
working relationship. Activities include
employee relations and services, employee
discipline, CBA negotiations, union
management relationships or labor relations
and labor management council.
Three major objectives
of effective HRM

 attract potentially qualified job

applicants

 retain the desirable employees

 motivate the employees

Strategic Purposes of HRM
 Productivity – Indicators are increased
performance, reduced absenteeism and
reduced turnover.
 Quality of Work Life – Indicators are
increased job involvement, increased
satisfaction, reduced stress and reduced
accidents and illnesses.
 Legal Compliance – Indicators are reduced
or eliminated cost of fines, reduced or
eliminated cost of lost contracts and
enhanced general reputation.
Crises Influencing the
Importance of HRM
 Cost associated with human resources
 Productivity crises
 Increasing pace and complexity of
social, cultural, demographic and
educational changes
 Symptoms of dysfunction in the work
place.
Trends in HRM

 Openness in HRM, employee access to

personnel files, employee participation in
workplace decisions.
 Proactivity – initiation of HR programs to
promote productivity.
 Assessing HRM effectiveness.
 Strategic involvement as well as
operational and managerial involvement.
Of all the factors of production – capital, land and labor -
labor or people is undoubtedly the most crucial factor that
makes or breaks an organization. With the required
capital, the most abundant technology and machines can
be bought by any organization and yet not all
organizations perform in the same way. The difference in
achievements lies in the people behind the machines.
Truly, the greatest asset or liability of an organization is its
people or workforce.

Today’s new work force consists of the Millenials Gen

Xers and the Baby Boomers.
Trends in today’s
workforce
 Gender – More women are joining the workforce and
more are occupying leadership positions or joining
the executive ranks.

 Ethnicity – Cultural diversity, the work place is made

up of a mix of races, people from different cultures.

 Education – More people are returning to school for

continuing education courses as skills requirements
is increasing. Because of the increasing number of
less educated workers (school dropouts and out of
school youths) a job skill gap arises i.e. actual skill
vs. skill level needed do not match.
 Worker with disabilities. More are entering the
workforce so physical facilities must be
redesigned to accommodate them.

 Age – Middle aged and older workers will be

the core of the workforce and the pool of
younger workers will decline.

 Flexible workforce – The increasing use of part

time, temporary workers so outsourcing has
increased.

 Values – Today’s workforce is characterized by

a mix of values
Most important top work
related values today
 Recognition for competence – people want to be
recognized for their accomplishments. They want to
know that their contribution is appreciated.

 Respect and dignity – most people want to be

respected for who they are. They want to be valued.

 Personal choice and freedom – most people want

more autonomy and rely more on their own
judgment.

 Work involvement - most workers want to be kept

informed and involved in decision making at work
particularly those affecting the quality of the work life.
 Pride in one’s work – people want fulfillment and
feel a sense of pride when they render quality work.

 Lifestyle quality – most people desire for time with

family and time for leisure which is affected by work
policies and practices.

 Financial security – people want to feel secure

financially, enjoy a comfortable lifestyle and ride out
bad times.

 Self-development – people desire for continuous

improvement and reach one’s potential.

 Health and wellness – people want to organize life

and work in ways that are healthy and contribute to
long term wellness.
Qualities of HR Managers

 Must be effective in identifying problems,

developing alternative solutions and
selecting and implementing most effective
ones.
 Must be innovative.
 Must be aggressive and willing to take
risks.
 Must be effective in selecting, building and
developing an entire personnel staff.
Conventional Role of HR
Managers
 As a Supervisor – He oversees the employees in
his own department over whom he exercises a
direct line of authority.

 As an Administrative Official – He translate into

action those parts of the HR policies and programs
assigned to him, together with his staff conducts or
directs certain policies as provided for in the
policies and programs entrusted to the HR
department.

 As an Adviser – He serves as counselor, guide

and confidant to management, supervisors, and
employees.
 As a Coordinator – He brings into action all
activities, regulates and combines diverse efforts
into harmonious whole and gets together and
harmonizes the work of various personnel in his
department and the related functions in other
departments.

 As a Negotiator – He is usually asked either to

represent management in negotiating labor
contracts or to attend negotiations with unions in an
advisory capacity. He is in charge with the
administration of labor contracts.

 As an Educator – His educational functions are to

sell the employee’s point of view to management
and the line supervisors and the management’s
point of view to the employees and supervisors. He
is involved in the management of employee
development programs of the company.
 As a Provider of Service – He can initiate
action to help employees obtain facilities with
government agencies like SSS, medicare, etc
which can make their employment more
satisfying.

 As a PR Man – His functions require him to

deal with the various publics of the company.
Responsibilities of a
Human Resource Manager
 Hiring – Lead recruitment efforts, which includes
managing relationships with managers and hiring
supervisors; Develop recruitment strategies; Interview,
check references and work with hiring
supervisors/managers to select qualified candidates;
and Guide managers in welcoming new staff and
conducting new staff orientations.

 Employee Relations – Guide managers in developing

employees and/or taking corrective action up to and
including termination; Assists in the resolution of
employee/supervisor problems; Conduct exit
interviews; lead/sponsor specific teams focused on
meeting annual objectives such as training and
professional development, new staff orientation etc.
 Record Keeping – Run quarterly reports such
as: Turnover reports, Hiring Activity Reports
etc.; Maintain emergency contact list for all
employees.

 Compensation and Benefits – Spearhead

planning, development and implementation of
compensation and benefits programs that
support organizational objectives; Participate in
salary and benefits surveys initiated by
established organizations; Monitor program’s
effectiveness and oversee payroll and benefits
administration.
 Organizational Development – Develop and
implement new ER policies and procedures;
Assist in the communication policy development
to staff; Maintain employee handbook; Maintain
all job descriptions and organizational charts;
Maintain and monitor team diversity; Develop
career leaders to foster professional growth
within the organization; Assist the management
in the organizational change which may include
reorganizations, reductions in force or relocation
of functions and offices; Roll out HR initiatives
such as performance appraisals, regulatory
compliance and affirmative action planning.
 Performance Management – Manage key
performance management processes,
including goal setting, appraisal
documentation, and employee feedback;
Improve existing processes; and Develop and
deliver training on existing processes.

 Employee Communications – Publish HR

bulletin monthly; Maintain HR database;
Organize annual teambuilding events (at
least two).
Four New Roles for
Organizational Excellence
 Business Partner – HR managers must acquire
some competency in the business functions of
the company. They should transform themselves
into becoming “complete managers” by helping
top management craft strategic directions for the
business and strategies to attain them. While
other managers are concerned with how to
make both ends meet, how to make the budget
work, how to deliver products on time, how to
make correct reports on time, the HRM
professional should provide the mechanism for
these.
 Change Agent – Change does not happen, it
becomes. The only thing that is constant is change
itself. The role of HRM professionals is not simply
to anticipate or prepare for change but to make it
happen, to shape conditions so that the desired
changes happen. The winners of tomorrow are
those who are able to master change today, those
who see change not as event but a process.

 Employee Champion – This is the most

controversial role. The old paradigm used to be
when the line is drawn between management and
labor, HRM must side with management. This still
holds true but only when the lines are drawn. In the
new paradigm, HRM’s role is to make sure that
battle lines are not drawn, to create and ambiance
that is amiable instead of adversarial.
 Administrative Expert – HRM must assert
their administrative role towards increasing
efficiency and enhancing better outputs.
This requires looking strongly, seriously at
all internal processes within the
organization with the end in view of
enabling the organization to produce, better
and cheaper. HRM must become experts
at reorganizing work not only for the HRM
department but even for the whole
company. Being an administrative expert
builds HRM credibility and increases its
ability to be a strategic business partner.
Problems and Difficulties of
the HR Manager
 Common misconception about his role and functions.
The authority and responsibility of the HR managers
are often misunderstood.

 Inadequate recognition by the management of the

proper role of the HR manager in the organization.

 Role in labor relations

 Traditional apathy and jealousy of line managers and

supervisors.
HRM Practices that Enhance
Competitive Advantage
 Employment security – A guarantee of employment
stating that no employee will be laid off for lack of
work.
 Selectivity in recruiting – Carefully selecting the
employees in the right way.
 High wages – Wages that are higher than that
required by the market.
 Incentive pay – Allowing employees who are
responsible for enhanced level of performance and
profitability to share in the benefits.
 Employee ownership – Giving employees ownership
interest in the organization.
 Information sharing – Providing employees with
information about operations, productivity and
profitability.

 Participation and empowerment – Encouraging the

decentralization of decision making and broader
worker participation and empowerment in controlling
their work process.

 Training and skill development – Providing workers

with the skills necessary to do their jobs.

 Cross-utilization and cross training – Train people to

perform several different jobs.
 Wage compensation – Reducing the size of pay
differences among employees.

 Promotion from within – Filling job vacancies by

promoting employees from jobs at lower
organizational level.

 Long-term perspective – It must realize that to gain

competitive advantage through workforce takes time
to accomplish.

 Measurement of practice – It should measure such

things as employee attitude, the success of the
programs and employee performance appraisal.
A good HRM practice should
comprise the ff:
1. Values and culture first
2. Alignment and consistency
3. Hiring for fit
4. Investing in people
5. Information sharing
6. Team based system
7. Rewards and recognition
8. Leading not managing
Critical Factors
Influencing HRM
 Aging society –This is a result of the demographic
trends a decline in the birth rate and longer life
spans. HRM will have to draw from a shrinking labor
force as well as obtain more productivity from the
workers already employed. An aging society raises
a number of challenges for HRM that relate to both
young and old employees.)

 Workforce diversity –This extend beyond the

traditional notions of race, ethnicity and gender. It
includes generational issues and employment
structures. Diversity issues represent a complex
mixture of challenges for HRM.
 Information Technology revolution – The IT
revolution impacts businesses not only in terms of
e-commerce but also in the fundamental ways
people work, the labor market and the way
organizations operate.

 Globalization – Business transcends borders,

cultures and languages and as such requires a
global workforce. Globalization will dictate major
growth in world trade, change marketplace
dynamics and demand the development of an
international workforce.
Importance of Human
Resources
 Of all the factors of production – capital, land, and
labor – labor/people is the most crucial factor that
makes or mars an organization.

 People constitute an organization’s most important

and vital factor in its success or failure.

 The greatest asset or liability of an organization is its

people.

 Where all else are equal, the competitive edge would

lie in human resource: the Human Factor.