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HumanResourceManagement

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Human Resource Management (HRM)

The set of organizational activities directed at attracting, developing, and maintaining an effective workforce. Historically treated as a secondary “personnel” function, HRM is now recognized as a critical strategic pillar — in service organizations, wages and benefits can exceed 75% of total organizational costs.

How It Appears Per Course

ADMN 201

HRM is framed as both an operational necessity and a strategic investment. The central concept is Human Capital — treating employees as measurable assets whose value can be tracked. Closely tied to this is Talent Management: actively using employee skills to drive organizational success.

The HR function is organized around a continuous planning cycle:

flowchart LR
    A["Job Analysis\nDescription + Specification"] --> B["Forecast HR\nDemand & Supply"]
    B --> C{Match?}
    C -->|Shortfall| D["Hire / Retrain / Retain"]
    C -->|Overstaffing| E["Transfer / Retire / Lay Off"]
    D --> F["Recruit & Select"]
    E --> F
    F --> G["Develop & Appraise"]
    G --> B

HR Planning Process

  1. Job Analysis — produces two documents:
    • Job Description: objectives, responsibilities, key tasks, working conditions
    • Job Specification: specific skills, education, and credentials required
  2. Forecasting — predict demand (how many employees are needed) and supply (where they’ll come from)
    • Internal supply: Employee Information Systems (Skills Inventories), Replacement Charts
    • External supply: population demographics, university graduation rates
  3. Matching — close the gap by hiring/retraining (shortfall) or transfers/layoffs (overstaffing)

Developing the Workforce

Development begins at hire and continues throughout the employee’s career:

MethodDescription
OrientationIntroduce new hires to policies, co-workers, and job nature
On-the-Job TrainingSkills acquired while performing actual work at the worksite
Off-the-Job TrainingClassroom or simulation programs away from the worksite
MentoringExperienced manager sponsors and teaches a less experienced one
Reverse MentoringJunior employees teach senior staff new technologies or social media
Pay-for-Knowledge PlansEarnings tied to skill set — incentivizes continuous learning

Performance Appraisal

A formal program for evaluating job performance. Serves two purposes:

  • Developmental: identifies skill gaps and directs training
  • Evaluative: validates whether recruiting and selection processes are actually working

ABC Feedback Model — how managers should give appraisal feedback:

  • Accurate: objective examples from a performance log; avoid “always/never”
  • Business-Oriented: focus on business reasons, not personality or personal behaviour
  • Consistent: feedback throughout the year, not dumped all at once annually

Cross-Course Connections

Bias-PerformanceAppraisals — cognitive bias (PHIL252) ↔ interview and appraisal bias in HRM

Key Points for Exam/Study

  • HRM = attracting + developing + maintaining an effective workforce
  • Human Capital = workforce treated as a measurable asset; Talent Management = using skills to drive success
  • Job Analysis always produces two outputs: Job Description + Job Specification
  • HR Planning cycle: Job Analysis → Forecast → Match → Recruit → Develop → Appraise → loop back
  • Performance appraisal validates the whole system — it checks whether recruiting is actually working
  • ABC model: Accurate, Business-Oriented, Consistent

Open Questions

  • How does the HR Planning process differ in small vs. large businesses?

Graph View

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