Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Class 1 & 2
Randhir Kumar
randhirkumar@iimcal.ac.in
M-207, NAB
Mob: 9769 546 556
The Rules and course outline
3 subfields
Source: Peter Boxall, John Purcell and Patrick Wright , The Oxford Handbook of Human
Resource Management, Oxford University Press
• Micro HRM – areas of recruitment, selection, induction, training
and development, performance management, and remuneration.
Also included is the IR part…Problem is silo based approach,
however each of these sub-functions has enormous depth (for each
topic (volumes and volumes and reams of literature have been
written on these topics)
• SHRM – deals with how the pieces mentioned in micro HRM fits
together and connect with broader context and other
organisational activities, .It argues that the General managers
should be concerned with HRM potentials for competitive
advantage
• International HRM: concerns with companies operating across
national boundaries, it takes a micro approach in the sense that it
connects how the HR sub-functions such as selection, remuneration
etc. might be adapted to international assignments.
Discussion question from caselet – Loft Securities
It is characteristic of such disciplines that they beg, steal, and borrow from more
basic disciplines to build up a credible body of theory, and make no apology for it.
Q 2. What are the cognate disciplines from which HRM beg, borrow and steal??
Source: Peter Boxall, John Purcell and Patrick Wright , The Oxford Handbook of Human
Resource Management, Oxford University Press
Low Status of HRM in academia and
its revival
• Prior to Second World War, only handful of US universities had programmes in IR
and after war many institutes were established.
• Courses name were labour economics, CB, PM (and human relations) and labour
law
• 1960s- HRM part of IR, however gradually drifted into more narrowly focussed on
unions and labour management relations. Divorce of IR and HRM followed by
divorce between labour economists and scholars from behavioural sciences
Source: Peter Boxall, John Purcell and Patrick Wright , The Oxford Handbook of Human
Resource Management, Oxford University Press
HRM evolution continued
• 1st intellectual feat: Integrated insights from OB/OD into traditional PM/IR
in 1960s, application of the social sciences to the analysis of org.
problems. ..it was argued persuasively that more of behavioural sciences
should be taught in B school, most cited practitioner of OB/OD were
Herzberg, McGregor, Portal, Maslow and Argyris.
• OB became so strong that many universities HRM gravitated toward a
course on Applied OB.
• Introduction of SHRM: Planned HR deployments and activities intended to
enable an org. to achieve its goals. (It suggest that HRM and PM are
largely equivalent) (If SHRM is strategic the HRM is more tactical just like
PM)
• others define it more narrowly…by limiting the room for strategic choices
to some permutation of the HPWS and more prescriptive by incorporating
employee involvement and other HPWS practices.
• It rejuvenated the HRM and empirical support found positive link between
advanced HRM practices and firm performance.
HR as function or HR as a department
• Repositioning HRM function: Transformation or
demise? (Schular, 1990)..Should we do away with
HR? ..its is ineffective, incompetent and
costly…although HRM is strategic business
partner, many companies the function remain of
low level admin version often criticised in past.
• One can reach to mistaken conclusion that HRM
is equal to staff and activities of HR department
(however these two are very distinct, if
overlapping as recognised by authors from
earliest days)…
Concept 1: Signaling (case S.G Cowen)
Why firms should hire from IIMC and not from IIM BG?
Example of how IIMC is acting as a institutional screening for good quality candidates
through their stringents selection parameters.
Firms in a way minimise the risks of bad hires
Assumption better students go to better B-Schools (Self-Select)
Signaling to potential customers (Look we hire from only top B-Schools, Only IIT-IIMs)
Downside: Might be difficult to retain for longer duration, Dumping ground in case
company is last one to visit for campus placement (Dilemma of SG Cowen)
https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9199.03
A signal from the organisation to the individual of the expected areas and levels of
performance
Provide individual with a map or indication of the behaviours that will be valued,
recognised and in some organisations rewarded
A broad mental roadmap, does not provide clear-cut black and white answers, do not
reflct skills and abilities that org. might need in future, changes with cultural context of
countries
A practical guide to assessment centres and selection methods: Measuring competency
for recruitment and development, Ian Taylor, Kogan Page
Reliability and Validity of selection tools
“A reliable test is one that yields consistent scores when a person takes two
alternate forms of the test or when he or she takes the same test on two or
more different occasions” (e.g. intelligence tests)
While reliability tells that the test is measuring something consistently, Validity
tells whether the test is measuring what you are supposed to measure. (e.g.
Swimming test for life guard)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW-U1q5uQ3M
Realistic job previews (RJPs): are devices used in the early stages of personnel
selection to provide potential applicants with information on both positive and
negative aspects of the job (Premack & Wanous, 1985).