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.