Human Resource

Management

DeCenzo and Robbins

Chapter 1
Strategic Implications of a Dynamic HRM Environment
Introduction
HRM is a subset of management. It has five main
goals:

attract
employees

retain hire
employees
Goals employees
of
HRM

motivate train
employees employees

Strong employees = competitive advantage.

 HRM
• The World of Work - continues to change, but
at an even more rapid pace.
• HR must understand the implications of:
– globalization
– technology changes
– workforce diversity
– changing skill requirements
– continuous improvement initiatives
– the contingent work force
– decentralized work sites
– and employee involvement engagement
 Understanding Cultural
Environments
• HRM must ensure that
– employees can operate in the appropriate language
– communications are understood by a multilingual work force
• Ensure that workers can operate in cultures that differ
on variables such as
– status differentiation
– societal uncertainty
– assertiveness
– individualism
• HRM also must help multicultural groups work
together.
 Understanding Cultural
Environments
• Dimensions for Cultural differences:
– Assertiveness
– Future Orientation/attitude
– Gender Differentiation
– Power Distance/Status Difference
– Individualism/collectivism
– Performance orientation
– Time Orientation (Monochronic vs
Polychronic Society)
 Understanding Cultural
Environments
• Cultural Implications for HRM
– Not all HRM theories and practices are
universally applicable.
– HRM must understand different cultural
values and adapt accordingly.
 The Changing World of
Technology
• Has altered the way people work.
• Has changed the way information is
created, stored, used, and shared.
• The move from agriculture to
industrialization created a new group of
workers – the blue-collar industrial
worker/miner.
• Since WWII, the trend has been a
reduction in manufacturing work and an
increase in service jobs.
 The Changing World of
Technology
• Knowledge Worker - individuals whose jobs
are designed around the acquisition and
application of information.
• Why the emphasis on technology:
– makes organizations more productive
– helps them create and maintain a
competitive advantage
– provides better, more useful information
The Changing World of Technology

HRM information systems help to

HRIS/HRMS
 facilitate HR plans

 make decisions faster

 clearly define jobs

 evaluate performance

 provide desirable, cost-effective benefits

 The Changing World of Technology

HR managers use technology to:

 recruit, hire, and train employees

 motivate and monitor workers

 research fair compensation packages

 communicate throughout the organization

 evaluate decentralized employees’ performance

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 10/e,

 Workforce Diversity
• How Diversity Affects HRM
– Need to attract and maintain a diversified
work force that is reflective of the diversity
in the general population.
– Need to foster increased sensitivity/ respect
to group differences.
– Must deal with the different
• Values, Needs, Interests, Expectations of
employees
-- The challenge is to make organizations more
accommodating / (not to eliminate) to diverse
groups of people.
 Work-Life Balance
• What Is a Work/Life Balance?
– A balance between personal life and work
– Causes of the blur/Overlapping between work
and life
• The creation of global organizations means the world
never sleeps/ work never stops.
• Communication technologies allow employees to work
at home / on the move
• Organizations are asking employees to put in longer
hours.
• Fewer families have a single breadwinner/(income
earners).
The Labor (all types of people or employee) Supply

HR managers monitor the number of people in the

organization.

Organizations are increasingly using contingent

workers to respond to fluctuating needs for employees.

Trend is to rightsize: fit company goals to workforce numbers.

For agility, companies build a contingent workforce of

 part-time workers
 temporary workers
 contract workers
 Contingent Employees

• Issues / problems Contingent Workers may

Create for HRM
– How to attract quality temporaries/part-timers
– How to motivate employees who are receiving
less pay and benefits
– How to have them available when needed
– How to quickly adapt them to the organization
– How to deal with potential conflicts between core
and contingent workers
 A Look at Ethics

• Three views of ethics:

– Utilitarian View – decisions are made on the basis of their
outcomes or consequences
– Rights View – decisions are made with concern for
respecting and protecting individual liberties and
privileges under universal human rights
– Theory of Justice View – decisions are make by
enforcing rules fairly and impartially

• Code of ethics - a formal document that describes

an organization’s primary values and the ethical
rules it expects organizational members to follow.
• HR managers must take part in enforcing ethics rules.