HRM_L1

Question 1

What is Human Resource Management (HRM)?

Answer 1

Definition:

• Concerned with policies, practices, and systems influencing employees’ behaviour, attitudes, and performance.
• Objective: Ensure people succeed and enhance organisational performance.

Question 2

Which HRM practices predict company performance?

Answer 2

• Empowerment better predicts performance than technology-based practices (short¹ & long² term).
• Skill-, motivation-, and opportunity-enhancing practices jointly explain financial success.

Question 3

What are skill-enhancing practices?

Answer 3

• Rigorous selection methods.
• Extensive training programmes.

Question 4

What are motivation-enhancing practices?

Answer 4

• Performance-based incentives.
• Career development opportunities.

Question 5

What are opportunity-enhancing practices?

Answer 5

• Employee participation in decision-making.
• Greater empowerment at various levels.

Question 6

How do company strategy and strategic HRM relate?

Answer 6

• Company strategy defines objectives, competitive advantage, and resource use, processes, sturcture.
• Strategic HRM: People as a source of advantage; define needed competencies and select the right HRM practices.

Question 7

What are some HRM tasks and strategic choices?

Answer 7

• Job analysis and design:
  – Simple vs. complex tasks
  – Specific vs. generic job descriptions
• Recruitment and selection:
  – External vs. internal recruitment
  – Specific vs. general skills
• Performance management and compensation:
  – Input/behavior/output control
  – Internal vs. external equity
• Training and development:
  – Current vs. future skills
  – Train few vs. all employees
• Labor and employee relations:
  – GAV (Group and Association Voice) vs. individual contracts
  – Transactional vs. relational psychological contracts
• New overarching strategic issue: Use of Artificial Intelligence in HRM tasks

Just Remember People Truly Learn AI.

Question 8

What are Pfeffer & Veiga’s characteristics for successful HRM? (7)

Answer 8

• Selective hiring
• Extensive training
• Self-managed teams & decentralisation
• Reducing status differences
• High compensation tied to organisation performance
• Sharing information
• Employment security

Some Excellent Staff Respect High Standards, Sharing Everything Securely.

Question 9

Why is the relationship between person and work dynamic?

Answer 9

People’s competencies, interests, and needs change continuously, not least through the work they do: “The product of work is people”.

• Work changes through organisational, technological, and environmental shifts.
• Continuous reciprocal adaptation is needed:
  
  • Fit task to human (job design, job crafting)
  • Fit human to task (selection, training)
• Leadership ensures appropriate HRM practices at strategic & operational levels.

Question 10

Company strategy

Answer 10

• Build and maintain competitive advantage
• Determine objectives and how to achieve them
• Define appropriate processes, structures, and
  resources

Question 11

Strategic HRM

Answer 11

• People as source of competitive advantage
• Define current and future competence profiles
• Select appropriate HRM practices

Question 12

Fit task to human

Answer 12

Job design, Job crafting

Question 13

Fit human to task

How does one do that?

Answer 13

Selection, Training