Reflection

Today in class we discussed our research papers and the presentations. We also discussed a few of the slides from the last chapter. In those slides, we talked about utilitarianism, deonotology, virtue ethics and common ethical perspectives in business a little bit more today. Concluded with examples of those methods.

Reflection 3/31/2010

House-keeping items: discussed our research papers, how to submit it online at turnitin.com by Monday. Also, exchanged with Bernard to peer review each others papers. We discussed utilitarianism, deonotology, virtue ethics and common ethical perspectives in business. We also discussed the video about Johnson and Johnson and their credo. We learned how a company can make employees feel valued and also different factors to increase satisfaction.

Reflection on Ch. 15

Today in class we discussed the things affecting HRM in international markets. We talked through slides and covered things like individualism, collectivism, power distance, masculinity and femininity, etc. We got in our groups and discussed our research papers, also, talked about X Patriots and the qualifications for them. We talked about the typical barriers and challenges in international work, and the stages of honeymoon phase, culture shock, learning (which takes the longest), and adjustment. It was interesting that many people don't make it past the culture shock phase.

Ch. 16

This chapter discusses the following concepts and what they are:
A high-performance work system is the right combination of people, technology, and organizational structure that makes full use of the organization’s resources and opportunities in achieving its goals.
A high-performance work system achieves the organization’s goals, typically including growth, productivity, and high profits.
Many conditions contribute to high-performance work systems by giving employees skills, incentives, knowledge, autonomy, and employee satisfaction.
Organizations can improve performance by creating a learning organization, in which people constantly learn and share knowledge so that they continually expand their capacity to achieve the results they desire.
By taking a customer-oriented approach, HRM can improve quality by defining the internal customers who use its services and determining whether it is meeting those customers’ needs.
One way to do this is with an HRM audit.
Another way to measure HRM effectiveness is to analyze specific programs or activities.
This analysis can measure success in terms of whether a program met its objectives and whether it delivered value in an economic sense.
Interesting Thought...
I found it interesting that out of the government employees the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ranked highest.

Ch. 15

Managing Human Resources Globally
I think this is an interesting topic for me because I am interesting in the global market and think that the future of our economic strength will come from utilizing the global economy. I always wonder if the lower labor costs found abroad are ethical and if there is or will be stricter laws about this? Why don't we adopt the stronger systems for business growth that we see globally? Whose job is it to do that research? This chapter talks about the growing global market and the reasons of lower costs and regulations as factors in this movement.

Ch. 14

Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations
This chapter defined unions and labor relations. It discusses the labor relations management goals, labor unions and society. Talked about the Union Organizing process, which I found kind of interesting because I have never known how that happens. I was surprised to see that the NEA was the largest union. I wonder why the government hasn't done more to face the issues with education and please those union workers. Especially with the auto industry and the unions you hear about, I was shocked to hear that they weren't high on the list yet. Who pays for the costs associated to start up and maintain unions?

Ch. 13

Concept and Brief Discussion: Providing employee benefits

This chapter focused on benefits. It defines benefits by law, paid leave, retirement plans, insurance plans, and other employee wants. They also talked about the paid leave days in the US, and how to encourage different behaviors through incentives like health care packages, plans, and perks to promote healthier life styles. I think it is interesting to see how many people don't take their days off. I wonder if this is because even though they have this time offered they decline because there are underlying feelings about taking it off, such as their boss will be upset with them etc. I also question the future of benefits and benefit packages, I continually hear that they are being eliminated.

Research in the Library

Yesterday for HRM we went to the Library to learn online research techniques. I thoroughly enjoyed this training and found it very useful and informative. I narrowed my topic down to workplace privacy and monitoring employee internet activity: Flexibility in the workplace as it relates to employee effectiveness. I am excited to research this topic! I have had a few other great ideas come to me since yesterday too though, so if you need some ideas let me know.

Ch. 12

Recognizing Employee Contributions with Pay.
This is piggy-backing the last chapter and relates to pay. It talked about incentives and different types of pay. Some incentives work in certain situations and some don't, they explained these in the chapter. Some effective incentives include allowing employees to be involved in the decision making process. This type of communication is important for a company. I wonder if most companies use incentives or if some don't use them at all?

Ch. 11

We discussed Chapter 11 and had a guest speaker from Ancestry.com. We discussed how pay has an influence on people and also how it helps reach company goals. We discussed how pay can be used as a retention tool. The speaker told us different ways to pay employees and different guidelines. He said that a company should allow employees and companies to have flexibility to keep companies successful and happy. I agree with him and feel that pay is a very important factor in attracting employees.

Ch. 10 Reflection & Ch. 11

Ch. 10 Reflection
Having had to miss class for my little girls emergency run to the pediatrician, I did some reading up on my teammates blogs to see what discussion and lecture I missed in class Monday. Here is what I have gathered. In class we broke into groups (as usual) to discuss the reading. They also talked about progressive discipline and the process that happens when an employee continues to not work the way they should. They also talked about job with drawl and how there are many ways that this can occur. Casey thought this was an interesting topic because she has experienced it first hand when one of her coworkers was going through a divorce, and she saw the toll it took on all the other workers as well as the company as a whole.

Chapter 11
Establishing a Pay Structure
This chapter discussed how much to pay employees based on their skills, experience, and the job type. It discussed the factors of equality and fairness, and how to determine real skills. It also describes what and how pay grades, pay ranges, and pay differentials work. Equal pay for equal work was an interesting topic.
Pay structure, how they decide how much to pay each employee, benchmarking, comparing other companies in the same industry, pay policy line, mathematical relationship between job evaluation points and pay rate were some of the key topics.
How do companies deal with employees that are upset about the pay scales and raises, and what are the most common complaints and solutions?

Ch. 10

Separating and Retaining Employees
This chapter talked about such topics as determining whether or not the organization is treating employees fairly, voluntary and involuntary turnover, legal requirements for employee discipline, and how to fairly discipline employees. The idea of outplacement counseling was new to me but rather interesting. The key points were about dispute resolution, having and using methods like open door policy, peer review, mediation and arbitration, employee assistance programs, job withdrawal,and job satisfaction. What are some examples of barriers through real-life examples when using these methods? What are major challenges and are there better methods yet to be discovered?

Ch 7 Reflection

I might have missed class this day because I don't recall discussing Chapter 7 in class. I only missed class one day and I think that was chapter 9. We did have the Tahitian Noni HR guy come talk to us and that was relating to Chapter 7 and training. I have lots of experience with trainings and found his methods pretty standard. Training can come across as "you aren't doing well enough so now we are forced to train you better and correct your shortcomings" which can really upset and offend employees. I suggest making training something that everyone does regardless of performance tests and also make trainings fun and interactive-not like an exam.

Ch. 9

Developing Employees for Future Success
This chapter focuses on helping employees grow and develop, especially so that they will be successful in the positions they are in. It also focused on the methods used to fit employees to successful positions through assessments. These can be done by themselves, their supervisors, co workers, or others. The chapter talked about trying new things to learn new abilities and how experience can govern how diverse workers talents can be. It is important to have a broad range of skills for many jobs now days. Many people move around in a company and need to understand various functions.
Working is a never ending process of learning. It is also coming to terms with your strengths and weaknesses as an employee. There are many ways you can do this, the chapter talked about having coaches or bosses that help you and mentor you. They can also help you achieve your goals, which are important for growth.

Ch 8 Reflection

Process management is important on all levels of the company. These processes, like using regular feedback, helps to measure growth and assure that the employees and their respective roles are contributing to the company's success. TQM (Total Quality Management) refers to these different techniques and could be a variety of tests and sources. It was commonly agreed that feedback must be more regular than annually. A challenge is that you need to treat employees fairly and equally.

Ch. 8

Concept and Brief Description: Developing Employees for Future Success
Emotional Hook: I wonder what kind of problems come up with face to face feedback and constructive criticism.
Key points to elicit for discussion:Strategic purpose, Administrative purpose and Developmental purpose. Performance measures should fit with the organization’s strategy by supporting its goals and culture. Performance feedback should be a regular, scheduled management activity, so that employees can correct problems as soon as they occur.
Facilitative Questions: Where does goal setting end? Especially for those employees who are content doing the same job for years and years, how much can you expect them to improve continually and especially how do yo measure that growth?

Ch. 6 Reflections Part I

Today in class we discussed the guidelines for successful and accurate selection processes. We also discussed references and the validity and value of them, and how they are typically not a good indicated. We discussed typical questions you can't ask during interviews because of different Acts. We brainstormed ways to ask the same questions in "legal" terms.

Ch. 6

Concept and Brief Description - Selection Process, the process through which organizations make decisions about who will or will not be allowed to join the organization.
Emotional Hook - What challenges do HR Managers face with the selection process and how do they address those issues? Are legal issues common?
Key Points to Elicit in Discussion - Must provide reliable and valid information. It is generalized to apply to all candidates. Also must offer high utility and be legal. Facilitative Questions - Why do company's still use methods they know to be inaccurate or poor predictors?

Ch. 7

Concept & Brief Description: Instructional Design; A process of systematically developing training to meet specific needs.
Emotional Hook: Are employees ready for training? I never would have thought that before. I have assumed that if they don't know it then they are ready to be trained on it. If you can judge the employee's cognitive ability you will be able to better gauge what they are capable of learning and accomplishing.
Key Points: Organization's need good training programs, there are several steps that help an employer accomplish this. Organization, person, and task analysis are a few of those steps. There are several different types of training methods, you should constantly measure how effective your trainings are being through work evaluations.
Question: What companies don't have training and why?

Ch. 5 Reflections I

Today we discussed some basic principles in hiring. We considered the importance of keeping records to identity trends so a company can better adapt to changes in the market. We talked about the impact of high and low employment rates and how that effects the hiring process. I was a little let down after class because I realized that now is not the best time to be approaching graduation and looking to start a career.

Ch. 5

I found it interesting that the focus of hiring is placed in some strange areas, such as job boards. I always thought career fairs would rank as a higher route to find a job/employees. Setting Goals is important and even in the stages of HRM that you might not think they would apply, such as hiring an employee. Many positions are filled internally which I see so often. I like that idea, and I think it stressed the importance of working at a place you feel comfortable and confident.

Ch. 4 Reflections

The importance of Job Analysis in HRM was emphasized and really the main concept I took from our intro to Chapter 4. Job Analysis includes Job Description and Job Specifications. Both are incredibly important to both the employers and employees to succeed. Job Description is the list of duties, tasks and responsibilities that a job entails. Job Specification conveys the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that are required for a person so complete the job. I found those two definitions helpful in past jobs where I have had them clearly outlined, and if I become a manager I will strive to have those clearly outlined to my employees.

Ch. 4

There is an important and distinguished difference between Job Description and Job Specification. I think that many people get those two confused. I didn't know that Job Analysis was so important to HRM. I wonder why exactly (more in detail)?

Chapter 3 Reflection

Pregnancy Discrimination Act was interesting because many sources say that this is one of the fastest growing Equal Employment Opportunity complaints today. It really puts people in a bind when they have to avoid the temptation to calculate costs and extra expenses upon hiring a pregnant person.
Also, the Age Discrimination and Employment Act was interesting to understand but I feel like even though we have this law people and companies can still find ways around it like performance.
Lastly, the Equal Pay Act is an act that I don't think we live by as well as we do other laws. I hear that women make 77/100 compared to men and that doesn't sound right.

Chapter 2 reflections cont.

Today we concluded some discussion about Chapter 2 and I enjoyed the way we bridged the correlation between changes in HRM to our future. I especially liked how we discussed that "baby-boomers" will potentially start retiring which could result in our generation quickly moving up in companies. It sounds like workforce age is going up and will continue to do so.

Ch. 3 Providing Equal Opportunity and a Safe Work Place

Concept & Brief Discussion: All three branches of government regulate human resource management through policies, laws, enforcement of, influencing, and amending the laws. There are several major EEO federal laws and regulations, such as the Civil Rights Act, 13 and 14th amendments, the ADA to name a few.
Emotional Hook/Facilitative Questions: What laws or regulations have we yet to discover and when will we make them and why? Is there anyway to foresee them early enough so people aren't hurt in the process? Are we ever going to be done creating laws and regulations?
Key Points to Elicit in Discussion: The government exhausts several resources in order to create equal rights and safety for employees.

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Reflection 11/13 Ch.1-2

I am glad we pulled together the skills HRM requires. The graphic that showed the functions and responsibilities was helpful for my future career. I feel more comfortable with HR and knowing when to go to them for help and how to use them as a resource instead of being scared of HR like many employees are.

I realized that I am currently fulling the responsibilities of an HR function in that I help define jobs of the council members I have selected to be on student council. Our interview process involved a lot of interviewing and forecasting needs of our organization. I frequently provide training, appraise performance and communicate policies. I am glad to be in this class to help sharpen my skills in those areas.

Post 2: Ch. 2 Trends in HRM

I found it interesting that there is such an increase in the workforce aged 55+ foretasted for the next decade. This means a few things to me, first, that the dollar value doesn't seem to be going up or as far as a dollar used to go. SEcond, this means that there are some changes in the trends of benefit packages and cost of living expenses that people will need to prepare for. It made me wonder if I will have to work till I am even older than the anticipated work age, say 70-80? Does this increase mean that health care costs are going up? If so, is that a direct reflection on the overall health of our race? It makes me believe that we aren't taking as good of care as our bodies as we used to. If that is the case, I see major implications in the future HR departments across the country. It appears that the Top 10 Occupation for Job Growths have that common trend revolving around health care. If I were in a TQM team in an HR department I would focus on education and health training.

Post 1: The Keystone of HRM; my personal insights

The Keystone of HRM is to "maximize your human capitol potential". To do this, HR uses employee engagement, involvement, and enthusiasm for work. There are many responsibilities of the HR team where they practice and apply these principles. To name the basic steps from start to finish, HR plays an important role in advertising positions, selection of employees, training, performance management, retention, and career development. To do this there are guidelines or policies, practices and systems in place. HRM has a direct effect to the customers and gives the company what is known as a sustainable competitive advantage. One company that has done this well is Southwest Airlines. Understanding the dynamics of HRM really intrigues me and gives me more respect for their hard work. It also emphasizes the importance of a strong HR department in companies.