Chapter 15 Working in the HRM Field

1. Chapter 15Working in the HRM Field

2. Chapter Outline • 15-1 Employment in the HRM Field • 15-2 Major Challenges Facing Today’s HR Professional

3. 15-1a Career Options in HRM • HRM generalist • Perform virtually all facets of HRM. • Most often found in small to mid-sized organizations that employ few HR professionals. • Neither have time nor resources to conduct in-depth studies or projects. • Salary depends on the size of organization.

5. 15-1b Career Entry and Growth • Career entry • Most of today’s HR professionals enter the field through self-directed career changes. • One-third enter from other parts of the company. • The remainder enter from fields such as education, social services, accounting, sales, administrative secretarial positions. • Other entrants come directly from college.

6. 15-1b Career Entry and Growth (cont.) • Skills HRM candidates should possess: • Leadership and management skills • Cross-functional HRM expertise (for generalist position) • Technological skills • Knowledge of international HRM issues • Knowledge of business basics

7. 15-1b Career Entry and Growth (cont.) • Career progression • Begin as specialists and eventually become managers of those specialty units. • Begin as an assistant HRM generalist at a small plant or unit and advance into an HRM managerial role at successively larger plants or units. • Criteria to become a VP of human resources • Job performance • Credibility with senior management • Interpersonal skills • Ability to manage people • Skill in specialty area • Ability to “play politics”

8. 15-1b Career Entry and Growth (cont.) • Professional associations • Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) • American Society for Training and Development • International Personnel Management Association • American Compensation Association • Personnel Testing Council • Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology • Academy of Management

9. 15-1b Career Entry and Growth (cont.) • Professional certification • Recognition that an individual has demonstrated a mastery of a defined body of knowledge required for success in the field. • Primary certification designations issued by the Human Resource Certification Institute include: • Professional in Human Resources (PHR) • Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) • Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) • The PHR and SPHR exams cover six areas: strategic management, workforce planning and employment, human resource development, total rewards, employee and labor relations, and risk management.

10. 15-1b Career Entry and Growth (cont.) • Continuing education • HR professionals must continually update and expand their knowledge of HRM. • This can be done in several ways: • Attending conferences. • Attending seminars and training courses. • Obtaining advanced academic degrees. • Reading practitioner oriented or research oriented professional journals.

11. 15-2 Major Challenges Facing Today’s HR Professional • HR professionals are primarily responsible for developing HRM practices that enhance competitive advantage. • Additional responsibilities include: • Ensuring that employees are treated ethically. • Ensuring that their own talents are appropriately utilized by their companies.

12. 15-2a Organizational Ethics Related to HRM • Most serious ethical problems involve managerial decisions regarding employment, promotion, pay, and discipline. • These decisions are based on favoritism rather than ability or job performance.

13. 15-2a Organizational Ethics Related to HRM (cont.) • Workplace ethics and the HR professional’s job • Monitoring: Observe the actions of organizational members to ensure that all individuals are treated fairly and legally. • Investigate complaints: Concerning ethical issues such as sexual harassment or violations of employees’ privacy rights. • Serve as company spokesperson: Defend the company’s actions when confronted by a regulatory agency or media. • Ethics training: Help employees understand how to behave properly in ethically unclear situations.

14. 15-2a Organizational Ethics Related to HRM (cont.) • Code of ethics for HR professionals • Maintain the highest standards of professional and personal conduct. • Encourage employers to make fair and equitable treatment of all employees a primary concern. • Maintain loyalty to employers and pursue company objectives in ways consistent with the public interest. • Uphold all laws and regulations relating to employer activities. • Maintain the confidentiality of privileged information.

15. 15-2b Organizational Utilization of HR Professionals • Gaining support for HRM best practices • Monitor the effectiveness of its various recruiting sources. • Validate its selection practices. • Conduct structured, rather than unstructured, employment interviews. • Use cognitive ability tests and biographical inventories when selecting candidates for most jobs.

16. 15-2b Organizational Utilization of HR Professionals (cont.) • The failure to universally adopt HRM best practices Is attributed to the following three factors: • Resistance to change. • Ignorance on the part of decision makers. • Political considerations.

17. 15-2b Organizational Utilization of HR Professionals (cont.) • HR professionals can gain support for best practices by demonstrating • Bottom-line implications of each HRM practice; this is achieved by linking traditional practices such as training, compensation, and selection to tangible business goals. • Return on investment that can be attributed to various HRM practices.