Managing people

Theaimofthislectureisto Explorepeoplemanagement. Discussstaffingandselection. Exploreperformanceappraisal. Discussissueswithexamples. Forreference: ZAMAROS, PANAYOTIS (2006), Managing People, online course lecture extracted from PANAYOTIS ZAMAROS, TransnationalBusinessAnalysisWorkbook,2nded.,Lausanne:P.Zamaros,TheDrZNetwork,http://www.zamaros.net,date ofaccess.

_________________________________________ A ManagingPeople 1 People management, also known as human resource management (HRM) is about the management of various activities designed to enhance the effectiveness of an organizationsworkforceinachievingorganizationalgoals.Typicallyitinvolves1: Humanresourcesplanning:theprocessofdeterminingfuturehumanresourceneeds relativetoanorganizationsstrategicplananddevisingthestepsnecessarytomeet thoseneeds. Job analysis: the systematic collection and recording of information concerning the purposeofthejob,itsmajorduties,andtheconditionsunderwhichitisperformed, thecontactswithothersthatjobperformancerequires,andtheknowledge,skillsand abilitiesneededtoperformthejobeffectively. 2 Theresultsofjobanalysisareoftendevelopedintoajobdescriptionwhichisastatement of duties, working conditions and other significant requirements associated with a particularjob;itisfrequentlycombinedwithajobspecificationwhichisastatementof skills,abilities,education,andpreviousworkexperiencethatarerequiredtoperforma particularjob. B DemandandSupplyforHumanResources 3 Demand for human resources: a significant aspect of HRM is devoted to assessing the demandforhumanresourcesasaffectedbytheorganizationsenvironment.Thedemand
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Bennett, 1998.

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is influenced by changing organizational requirements, alterations to the strategic plan, internal workforce changes (retirement, resignations, and terminations). To retain flexibility, many employers are increasingly using contingent workers, hired on a temporarybasis,tohandleareasoffluctuatingdemandorchangingneedsthatcannotbe metbytheorganizationstraditional,fulltimeworkers. 4 Supplyofhumanresources:onecandistinguishbetween2: Internallaborsupplyconcernsthepoolofcurrentemployeeswhocanbetransferred or promoted to help meet demand. This can occur nationally or transnationally provided the immigration requirements are met. The main means of assessing the internallaborsupplyinclude: Skills inventory data bank containing basic information about each employee and whichcanbeusedtoassesthelikelyavailabilityofindividualsformeetingcurrent andfuturedemand. Replacementplanning:isa means of identifying potential candidates tofillspecific managerialpositions;itismaterializedbyapartialorganizationchartshowingmajor managerial positions in an organization, current incumbent, potential replacements foreachpositionandtheageofeachpersononthechart. Succession planning is a means of identifying individuals with high potential and ensuring that they receive appropriate training and job assignments aimed at their longrun growth and development; it provides a well qualified pool of individuals fromwhichmiddleandtopmanagerscanbedrawninthefuture. External labor supply: some reliance on the external labor supply is usually necessarybecauseoforganizationalexpansionand/oremployeeattrition. Reconcilingdemandandsupply:managersmusttakestepstobalancethetwo:ifinternal supply of labor is too large, plans must be made to reduce the number of employees through resignations and retirements and possibly lay offs; on the other hand if additional employees are necessary, plans must be also made to promote or transfer currentorganizationsmembersifdesirable,aswellasforhiringnewworkers.

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Staffing Staffing refers to the set of activities aimed at attracting and selecting individuals for positionsinawaythatitfacilitatestheachievementoforganizationalgoals3.

The notions of demand and supply here follow the conventions used in HRM departments; in economics it is the opposite: it is the firm that demands labor and the worker that supplies it. 3 Baron & Kreps, 1999.

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Recruitment is the process of finding and attempting to attract job candidates who are capableofeffectivelyfillingjobvacancies.Oneshouldconsider: Internal recruitment: most vacant positions in organizations are filled through internal recruitment, a process of finding potential internal candidates and encouraging them to apply for and/or be willing to accept organizational jobs that are open. One method of recruiting internally is through job posting, a practice whereby information about job vacancies is placed in conspicuous places in an organizationsuchasbulletinboardsornewsletters. External recruitment: a process of finding potential external candidates and encouraging them to apply for and/or be willing to accept organizational jobs that areopen;amajorissueistoprovidecandidateswithanoverlypositiveviewofthe organization in order to attract new employees. An alternative approach is the realisticjobpreview,whichisatechniqueinwhichjobcandidatesarepresentedwith a balanced view of both the positive and the negatives of the job and the organization.

Externalrecruitmentisaffectedbytransnationallabormobility4intermsof Immigrationlawsandpolicies. Compositionoflaborforceproductivityofthedomesticeconomy. Socioculturalconsiderationsonemploymentoverstatus,gender,andethnicity. Workerparticipationinmanagement.

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Selection Selection refers to the process of determining the candidate best suits organizational needs5.Inordertomakeadequateassessmentsofcandidates,selectionmethodsmustbe valid(i.e.measurewhatitisdesignedtomeasure). Typicalselectionmethodsinclude: Application blank: a form containing a series of enquiries about such issues as an applicant educational background, previous job experience, physical health, and otherinformationthatmaybeusefulinassessinganindividualsabilitytoperforma job.

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Ball et al., 2004. Bennett, 1998.

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Selectioninterviews:arelativelyindepthconversationconductedforthepurposeof assessing a candidates knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as providing information to the candidate about the organization and the potential jobs. In most cases interviews conducted are unstructured interviews and as such have low validityasaselectiondevice.Apotentialremedyistoconductstructuredinterviews orsemistructuredinterviews. Employment tests: a means of assessing a job applicants characteristics through paper and pencil responses or simulated exercises. Three major types of tests are usedintheselectionprocess: Abilitytestsformental,mechanicalandsensorycapacities. Personalitytestsformeasuringpatternsofthoughts,feelings,andbehaviors. Performanceteststomeasurepracticalabilityonaspecificjob. Assessment centers: is a controlled environment used to predict the probable managerial success of individuals mainly on the basis of evaluation of their behaviorsinavarietyofsimulatedsituations. Reference checks: attempts to obtain job related information about a job applicant fromindividualswhoareknowledgeableabouttheapplicantsqualifications. E 11

PerformanceAppraisal Performanceappraisal refers to the process of defining expectations for employee performance, measuring, evaluating and recording employee performance relative to thoseexpectationsandprovidingfeedbacktotheemployee6. Typicalmethodsforratingperformanceinclude: Graphicratingscales:scalesthatlistanumberoffactorsincludinggeneralbehaviors and characteristics, on which an employee is rated by a supervisor (attendance, appearance,dependability,qualityofwork,relationshipwithpeople,etc). Behavioral rating scales: scales that contain sets of specific behaviors that represent gradationsofperformanceusedascommonreferencepoints(oranchors)forrating employeesonvariousjobdimensions.

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The performance appraisal interview is a challenging situation to handle. To perform effectivelyasarater,supervisorsmustplaythreedifferentroles,namely:

Baron & Kreps, 1999.

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As leader, the rater assigns work, works with the employee to establish standards, supplyresources. As a coach, is responsible for ensuring the employee is trained and supplies encouragementandsupport. Asajudge,evaluatestheemployeesperformanceasobjectivelyaspossible. 14 To solve these dilemmas companies are increasingly using the 360 degree feedback which is an approach that provides an individual with ratings of performance from a variety of relevant sources such as peers, subordinates, superiors, and often external customers or clients, which can then be compared with the individuals own self assessment.

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Development Traininganddevelopmentreferstoaplannedefforttofacilitateemployeelearningofjob relatedbehaviorsinordertoimproveemployeeperformance;trainingdenoteseffortsto increase employees skills on present jobs, while development refers to efforts oriented towardimprovementsrelatedtofuturejobs. Thetrainingprocessincludesthefollowingphases: Assessment phase: identifying training needs, setting objectives, and developing trainingcriteriaagainstwhichtoassesstheresultsofthetrainingprogram. Needanalysis:anassessmentofanorganizationstrainingneedsthataredeveloped by considering overall organizational requirements, tasks associated with jobs for which training is needed, and the degree to which individuals are able to perform thosetaskseffectively. Training design and implementation phase: determining training methods, developingtrainingmaterial,andconductingtraining;thiscanbeonthejobtraining. Evaluation phase: evaluating the results against the criteria developed during the assessmentphase.

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Typicaltrainingprogramsinclude: Orientationtraining:isaformalprogramdesignedtoprovidenewemployeeswith informationabouttheirjobsandthecompany.

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Technical skill training: is oriented toward providing special knowledge and developingfacilityintheuseofmethods,processesandtechniquesassociatedwitha particulardisciplineortrade. Managementdevelopmentprograms:focusondevelopingmanagerialskillsforuse at the supervisory, managerial and executive levels. The training of managers dependsonwhetherthecandidateisfromthehomeenvironment,hostenvironment orthirdenvironment7. Reference:
BALL,DONALDetal.(2004),InternationalBusiness:theChallengeofGlobalCompetition,9thedition,NewYork:McGraw Hill BARON,JAMES&KREPS,DAVID(1999),StrategicHumanResources:FrameworksforGeneralManagers,NewYork:John Wiley&Sons BENNETT,ROGER(1998),HumanResourcesManagement,inTIMHANNAGAN,Management:ConceptsandPractices, 2ndedition,London:FTPitmanPublishing NORTHOUSE,PETER(1997),Leadership:TheoryandPractice,London:Sage

Ball et al., 2004.

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