1.

Managing Human Resources Globally

1.1 HRM in a Global Environment

Organisations are becoming global. Foreign countries can provide business in new
markets and companies can set up operations overseas to enjoy lower labour costs.
Technology today makes it easier for companies to spread work around the world.

1.2 Employees in an International Workforce

When organisations operate overseas, they hire a combination of parent-country
nationals, host-country nationals and third party nationals.

Parent country national: employee who was born and worked in a country where
headquarters is located
Host country national: employee who is a citizen of the country in which an
organisation operates a facility
Third-party country national: employee who is a citizen of a country that is neither
parent nor host country of the employer.

For instance, if Mexico is the host country of Ford Motor Company:

 Parent-country: americans
 Host-country: mexicans
 Third party country: australians

If employees are assigned to work in another country, they are known as expatriates.

1.3 Employees in the Global Marketspace

There are different ways for employers to do business globally.
 International organisation: sets up one or few facilities in one or few foreign
countries -> eg breadtalk Singapore operates bakeries in china, Taiwan,
hongkong with HR managing most strategy and HR decisions. (all have same
menu)

Hr considerations:
o HR focuses on managing expatriates and ensuring they adjust well
overseas.
o Basic cross-cultural training is needed for staff working abroad.
o HR must adapt policies to one foreign labour law while keeping
alignment with HQ.
o Compensation includes expatriate allowances and relocation support.

 Multinational company: builds facilities in different countries to minimise

production and distribution costs eg McDonalds (no communication between
countries) (mcdonalds have local menus and hires locally. SG branch and
Japan branch are independent)

HR considerations:
o HR must localise recruitment, pay, and benefits for each country.
o Compliance becomes complex due to differing labour laws across
many markets.
o Training and performance systems need balance between global
standards and local needs.
o Limited knowledge-sharing means HR must encourage coordination
across subsidiaries.
o Each country requires its own talent pipeline and succession plan.

 Global organisation: chooses to locate a facility based on the ability to

effectively, efficiently and flexible produce a product or service using cultural
differences as an advantage. (google alphabet has r&d teams globally. Talent
hired from anywhere, distributed projects across countries; teams collaborate
daily across borders) -> standardised

HR considerations:
o HR standardises global hiring, performance, and training systems.
o Strong focus on global mobility—moving talent across countries for
projects.
o HR supports cross-border teamwork and virtual collaboration.
o Diversity and inclusion must be designed at a global scale.
o Workforce planning is integrated worldwide, using talent based on
capability, not location.
1.4 Transnational HRM Systems = GLOBAL, domestic = single
Global organisations require transnational HRM system to make decisions from a
global perspective, include managers from many countries and based on ideas
contributed by people representing a variety of cultures.
This involves balancing uniformity for fairness with flexibility to account for cultural
and legal differences.

1.5 Issues about International HR

Factors that affect HRM in international markets include:

a. Different culture

Culture is a community’s set of shared assumptions about how the world

works and ideals worth striving for. This can be in the form of customs,
languages and religions and so on. This affects how individuals behave
towards one another and their attitudes towards HRM practices.

 Individualism/collecitivsm
Culture low in individualism thinks themselves as group members.
They devote themselves to the interests of community and protect
them when they are in trouble.
Eg high = employees prefer performance based rewards and bonuses,
focusing on their achievement.
Eg low = team bonuses and group incentives, hr teamwork and using
group projects during training

 Power distance
 Culture low in power distance happens where people use first names
to address names instead of using titles
Eg high = performance appraisals are top-down, employees expect
clear instructions from managers and do not challenge authority,
promotes seniority-based promotions
Eg low = employees give input during meeting and promotions focus
on merit instead of seniority

 Uncertainty avoidance
Culture low in uncertainty avoidance takes each day as it comes.
Eg high = employees prefer detailed SOPs and structured onboarding
with schedule and step by step guidelines
Eg low = employees comfortable with flexible roles

 Masculinity/femininity
Culture in femininity places high value on relationships, service and
care for the weak, preserving the environment.
Eg high = competitive performance bonuses, career advancement and
recognition, goal oriented
Eg low = worklife balance, welfare benefits, conflict through consensus,
relationship building

 Long/short-term orientation
Culture with short-term orientation value past traiditions and fulfilling
social obligations in the present
Eg high = value career development and training plans, mentorship,
future-oreinted benefits
Eg low = immediate performance metrics, emphaisse practical skills for
current needs

b. Different education and skills level

 Education and skills levels of a company’s labour force affect how and extent
to which people want to operate there
 In countries with a poorly educated population. Companies will limit their
activities to low-skill, low-wage jobs.

c. Different economic system

 A country’s economic system, whether capitalist or socialist, as well as the
government’s involvement in the economy through taxes or compensation, price
controls, and other activities, influences human resource management practices
in a number of ways.

Socialist economic systems provide ample opportunities for educational

development because the education system is free to students. At the same time,
socialism may not provide economic rewards (higher pay) for increasing one’s
education.
In capitalist systems, students bear more of the cost of their education, but
employers reward those who invest in education

 In developed countries with great wealth, labour costs are relatively high,
impacting compensation, recruiting and selection decisions
 Income tax differences between countries make pay structures more
complicated when they cross national boundaries

d. Different political and legal system

A country’s political-legal system—its government, laws, and regulations—

strongly impinges on human resource management. The country’s laws often
dictate the requirements for certain HRM practices, such as training,
compensation, hiring, firing, and layoffs. An organiosation that expands
internationally must gain expertise in the host country’s legal requirements
and ways of dealing with its legal system.

1.6 Expatriate Selection

Selection of employees for foreign assignments should reflect the following criteria
for success in working overseas:
 Competency in area of expertise
 Communivate verbally and non verbally in foreign country
 Flexibility and tolerate cultural differences
 Motivation to succeeed and enjoy challenges
 Willingness to learn about foreign culture, custom and language
 Support from family members
1.7 Cross-cultural preparation
When an organisation selects an employee for overseas assignment, it implement
cross-cultural preparation to work across national and cultural boundaries. This often
includes family members accompanying employee for the assignment.

a. Prepare for departure: language instruction and orientation to foreign culture

b. Assignment: combi of formal program and mentoring to provide more info on
foreign culture
c. Prepare for return: provide info about employee’s community and home
country workplace

1.8 Emotional Stages in Foreign Assignment.

For a month or so after arriving, the foreign worker enjoys a “honeymoon” of

fascination and euphoria as the employee enjoys the novelty of the new culture and
compares its interesting similarities to or differences from the employee’s own
culture.
Before long, the employee’s mood declines as he or she notices more unpleasant
differences and experiences feelings of isolation, criticism, stereotyping, and even
hostility. As the mood reaches bottom, the employee is experiencing culture shock,
the disillusionment and discomfort that occur during the process of adjusting to a
new culture and its norms, values, and perspectives.
Eventually, if employees persist and continue learning about their host country’s
culture, they begin to recover from culture shock as they develop a greater
understanding and a support network.
As the employee’s language skills and comfort increase, the employee’s mood
should improve as well. Eventually, the employee reaches a stage of adjustment in
which he or she accepts and enjoys the host country’s culture.
1. Selection
Selection refers to the process by which organisations decide who will or will not be
allowed to join the organisation. This involves screening applications and resumes,
testing and reviewing work samples, interviewing, checking references and making a
selection.

1.1 Standards for Measuring Effectiveness of Selection Tools

a. reliability: measuring accurately, generating consistent results if taken several
times (free from random error)

b. validity: measuring as intended, is it related to what the measure is designed to

assess. e.g number of job applicants – measure of their “honesty” and measure of
“job performances”
Criterion related validity
 Measure of validity based on subtantital correlation between test scores and
job performance scores

 Line cuts through the middle of data to create best guess of relationship
between test scores and performance
 Person S has a lower test score. Person T has a higher test score. Hence, T
is expected to perform better than S. (Their predicted performance is higher.)
 If the test is valid, test scores should correlate with actual performance.

Sample correlation

R=0.50 R=0.30 R=0.00

Close to the Close to the personality- Close to the relationship

intelligence- performance between handwriting
performance relationship for the most samples and job
relationship and valid personality traits performance
knowledge-
performance Dots are scattered but No pattern
relationship there is still an upward
trend but not very tight Handwriting tells you
Dots follow an upward nothing about job
 trend. Personality tests can performance.
predict performance, but It is a completely invalid
Intelligence tests and job only moderately. selection method.
knowledge tests are very They help, but they are
good at predicting job not as strong as
performance. intelligence test

c. generalisability: selection method can be used for one or all contexts

d. utility: selection method provides economic value greater than cost
e. legal standards: is selection method discriminatory

1.2 Job Applications and Resumes

a. Application forms
 Standard categories of information like contact, work experience and
education

b. Resumes
 Applicants introduce themselves to potential employers

c. References
 Gather information or accuracy of information provided by applicants
 Information collected from people who know the applicant

d. Background checks
 Verify applicants as they represent themselves to be
 Official records and external databases

1.3 Employment Tests and Work Samples

a. Job performance tests and work samples

 Tests that involve sample work or candidates to show existing samples
of their work
 High predictor of job performance

b. Medical examinations
  Assess whether applicant can meet job’s requirement
 Fitness to work

c. Cognitive ability tests (job knowledge)

 Measure mental abilities such as verbal skills, quantitative skills and
reasoning ability
 Robust predictor of job performance across variety of jobs
 Validity increases for jobs with higher complexity
 General mental ability is one of strongest predictors of success

d. Personality inventories
 Big five
 Openness to experience – curious, imaginative, creative
 Conscientiousness – organised, responsible, disciplined, achievement
oriented
 Extraversion – outgoing, sociable, energetic
 Agreeableness – cooperative, kind, trustworthy
 Neuroticism – negative emotions, low emotional stability

Among all Big Five traits, conscientiousness is the best and most reliable predictor of
job performance, while neuroticism predicts poorer performance, and the other traits
depend on the job context.

1.4 Interviews

a. Non-directive (unstructured)
 Interviewer can choose questions for employees

b. Structured
 Interviewer asks the same set of questions to all employees

Unstructured Structured
Advantages: allow interviewer to Advantages: fair and consistent across
explore deeper into unexpected areas all candidates, higher reliability, higher
based on candidate’s background. predictive validity, reduces bias as rely
Allows to build stronger rapport as it less on intuition
feels more like a conversation.
Provides richer insights where can
explore personality, motivations.
Disadvantages: less flexible, rigid and
Disadvantages: low reliability as artificial, hard to build rapport,
 different candidates have diff questions. memorised
Interviewer choose question based on
good fit, first impressions and
stereotypes. Low predicitive validity.

Interview pitfalls
 Confirmation bias: notices information that supports that impression,
ignoring evidence that contradicts is
 Stereotyping: assume that they belong to a group instead of who they
actually are
 Liking and similarity: interviewers favour those similar to them
 Halo/horns effect: halo – one positive trait overly influences overall
judgement. Horns – one negative trait overly influences overall
judgement.
 Contrast effect: comparing to previous candidate instead of job criteria.

To avoid these pitfalls, must:

 Assess what they are supposed to measure (link to job analysis and think
about interviewees fit to the organisation)
 Ass whether they do a good job of measuring these things (would all good
candidates get right answer? Are right answers obvious to candidates?

Behavioural: past behaviour predicts future behaviour “ tell me

about a time you showed leadership skills”

 Implementing organisational policies regarding customer

complaints “tell me about a time you handled an angry
customer”
o 0 points – complained about customers and refuse
to back down
o 1 point – gave refund without any supporting info
o 2 points – politely told that no refunds given
o 3 points – apologise and explain and can contact
managers
 Critical behaviours
 Score system based on quality for each response

Situational: performance best demonstrated by real life situation

Structured “calculate a product demand forecast given this raw data”
interviews
 Implementing organisational policies regarding customer
 complaints. “stand behind the counter, another employee
portray customer and demands full refund for their
purchases. Store policy requires receipts for refunds”
o 0 points – exhibited hostile behaviour and seem
stress
o 1 point – give full refund, no question asked, seem
hostile
o 2 points – told person directly that they cant give full
refund and cave in too quickly or in stiff manner
o 3 points – apologise, and explain, use good
interpersonal demeanor
 Typical tasks
 Score system based on quality of each response

1.5 Selection Decisions

a. multiple hurdle – arrives at decision by eliminating some candidates at each
stage of selection process

 Initial assessment: screen using inexpensive cues like minimal education,

experiences, computerised tests (Minimum O-level qualification, 1 year
customer service experience, Basic computerised English test
→ Candidates who fail are eliminated.)
 Substantive: screen using more intensive measures like job interviews,
personality test (Structured interview, Personality test (e.g., agreeableness,
emotional stability) → Only those who meet required scores move on.
 Discretionary: final decision using multiple interviews, site layouts or job
tryouyt (final interview with hiring manager and job tryout, handling a mock
angry customer)

b. compensatory model – arrives at decision in hwihc a very high score on one

type of assessment can make up for a low score on another
Assessments include:
 Technical test (Python, Excel)
 Cognitive ability test
 Structured interview
 Past experience
A candidate might have:
 Strong cognitive ability (high score)
  Excellent technical test (high score)
 Weak interview performance (low score)
But because the technical & cognitive scores are very high, they compensate for the
weaker interview.
Candidate can still be hired because overall combined score is high enough.

When to use each model?

 Cost of selection process
 Volume of candidates
 Frequency of recruitment
 Job importance
 Automated systems or managers deciding

Multiple hurdles Compensatory model

 Minimises admin costs and time  More expensive but somewhat
by not administering later more predictive accuracy
procedures to those who already  Depends on actual cost and
failed predictive validities for selection
procedures (Cheap and low
Advantage: maximised by administering might not be worth, costly but
in order of cost justified might predict strongly so
it depends)
Disadvantage: sacrifices predictive  Common for cost differences
accuracy at each step considering info between types of selection
from only some procedures that procedures to be very large. (but
determine relevant for the job/ accuracy might be small)
 10% increase in predictive
accuracy may have more dollar
value than cost of administering
second procedure to all
candidates (better hires = higher
performance = higher
productivity)

1. Performance Management
Performance management is the process by which managers ensure that employee
activities and outputs contribute to organisational goals.

Managers must know the desired activities -> observe -> feedback

**recall, this is based on what it is expected of the employees to perform at work

1.1 Purpose of Performance Management

a. strategic: effective performance helps organisation achieve its business objectives

b. administrative: provide day to day info and decisions about salary, benefits and
recognition awards
c. developmental: basis to develop skills and knowledge for employees

1.2 Key Activities for Performance Management

aware -> observe (how will I administer) -> feedback (what rewards)

how will I administer -> what will I measure, how frequent to measure
rewards -> what rewards should I offer, and at what level? (individual, group or whole
organisation)

goal setting > performance appraisal > feedback

1.3 Steps to performance management

Step 1 and 2: involves identifying what company wants to achieve and develop
employee goals so that they can achieve -> employee job descriptions -> outcomes
must benefit customer, team, organisation

Step 3: providing employees with support through training, resources and ongoing
feedback -> issues and challenges that influence performance

Step 4: evaluating performance and compare targeted goals with actual results ->
annual performance review (more formal compared to previous feedback)

Step 5: addressing what employees can do to capitalise performance and address

weakness

Step 6: consequences for failing to achieve performance outcomes (bonuses, pay

increments, training needs)

1.3 Criteria/Measures for Effective Performance Management

 a. Fit with strategy
b. Validity (measuring what u r supposed to assess)
c. Reliability
d. Acceptability: acceptable to evaluator and employee in terms of cost (energy,
time) and fairness
e. Specific feedback (tell employees what is expected of them and how they can
meet those expectations, ensuring they meet overall organisational goals and
strategy)

1.4 Methods for Measuring Performance

a. Making comparison
 Simple ranking: managers rank from highest performer to poorest
performer
o Rank based on performance scores, or sales numbers, exam
scores, picks the most apples
 Forced distribution: managers to assign employees to a fixed
percentage categories, like bell curve even if they don’t fit in that
distribution (similar to meta’s layoffs)
o Identify top performers to retain and bottom performers to let go
o Jack welch of general electric (microsoft, facebook, AIG)
 Top 10% - outstanding
 Next 20% - exceeds expectations
 Middle 50% - meets requirrements
 Next 15% - below expectations
 Bottom 5% - poor performers
b. Rate individuals
 Attributes: evaluate characteristics or traits that managers believe
desirable such as teamwork, leadership or creativity -> choosing a
class monitor, evaluate based on responsibility, confidence, friendliness

Rating each trait from 1-5

 Behaviours: behaviours necessary for success on the job -> grading

student’s class part -> raise hands consistently, share ideas politely,
stay focused, helps classmates (specific observable actions)
 Rating behaviour from 1-5

c. Measure results
 Productivity: output compared to resources used (input) -> sales per
employee against cost/hours spent, number of calls answers against
compliments/complaints
o Customer service centre
o Output = number of customer issues resolved
o Input = number of hours worked
 Objectives: specific goals set by upper management with input from
employees then evaluate based on whether they meet the target
o Eg sales team’s goal is to bring 10 new corporate client in 6
months. In reality, secured 12% clients

1.5 Sources of Performance Information

360 degree performance appraisal is a performance measurement that combines
information from employees’ managers, peers, subordinates, self, and customers.

1.5 Errors in Performance Measurement

a. Social biases
 Contrast – compare with other individuals/employees
 Halo and horns effect – halo is letting opinion of one positive quality
influence overall judgement, horns is negative quality. Halo example:
employee speaks confidently during meeting so managers
automatically assume he is hardworking and reliable and a high
performer. Horns example:an employee comes late twice and
managers automatically assume he is lazy, irresponsible and poor
performer.
 b. Distribution errors
 Leniency – reviewer rates everyone near the top – eg: manager gives
almost all employees 5/5 even those who did average work to avoid
demotivating them
 Central tendency – the rater puts everyone near middle of scale – eg: a
manager gives everyone 3/5 regardless of their performance to play safe
and avoid conflict
 Strictness – rater favours lower rankings – eg: a manager gives everyone
1/5 or 2/5 as nobody meets his standards even if they perform well

 Central tendency – normally  Leniency – lots of top performers

distributed

1.6 Social Problems

 Influence tactics
o Employees may manipulate boss to get a better performance rating by
flattering the boss (complimenting excessively to get in their good
books), doing personal favours (buying lunch, running errands to get
brownie points), unethical behaviour (buy gifts or involve in sexual
harassment situation in exchange for good ratings)

 Political manipulation of consequences

o Managers may use performance rating for political reasons and not
based on actual performance. For instance, managers give good
ratings so people will like them. Or, managers give someone high
rating now so they can have something they want from them in the
future like support for project, loyalty etc.

1.7 Measurement errors to be avoided and why it matters

 If performance ratings are inconsistent or biased, they look unreliable and
cannot be defended in court legally
 If ratings are the same, hard to justify why one person is fired or denied
promotion as everyone appears to perform the same
 Poorly done evaluations can demotivate employees and make them feel
unappreciated
  Overpay may get low performers enjoy high bonuses due to leniency.
Underpay may get high performance risk low rewards due to strictness or bias

1.8 Conducting the Feedback Session

a. tell and sell: managers tell employees their ratings and justify those ratings – eg
you receive 3/5, here’s why and this is final (employee listens)
b. tell and listen: managers tell employees their ratings and let employees explain
view – eg you receive 3/5, how do u feel about this, any parts u want to discuss
(employee provides input on their opinions)
c. problem solving: managers and employees work together to solve performance
problems like identifying ways to improve and motivation
1. Compensation

1.1 Pay Structure

a. Job structure: relative pay for different jobs across the organisation
b. Pay level: average amount an organisation pays for a particular job (wages,
salaries, bonuses)
c. Pay structure: pay policy of job structure and pay level decisions
 Reflects how much to pay (pay level) and relative value of each job (job
structure)
o Pay rates: specific dollar amount an employee earns
o Pay grades: category or level where multiple jobs fall into (similar skills,
value that receive similar pay levels)
o Pay ranges: minimum, midpoint, or maximum pay allowed for a specific
pay grade

1.2 Compensation Major Principles

a. job analysis (internal) – employees should be paid based on difficulty of the job
or demands that are required of them or qualifications
b. market pay (external) – paid based on similar jobs in external labour market
c. distributive justice and social comparison (individual) – based on subjective
assessment of what other people like them are based

1.3 Job Evaluation (Internal)

Focus is on the value of job to the company. This is evaluated using job analysis,
estimating worth of various KSAOs, decision making requirements and working
conditions for the job.
To conduct a job evaluation, company’s job evaluation committee must first identify
each job’s compensable factors to determine how much a job should be paid
(characteristics of a job that organisation values)
 Different jobs have different scores, highest score requires more money to be
paid as it is more valuable.

1.5 Market Benchmarking/Survey (External)

Pay policy line reflects the salary the market typically pays for a job that is complex
or valuable.
 A job with 315 points would have predicted a salary of about $6486 per
month. This does not always match the rates in the organisation. In reality,
employees can actually earn significantly more or less than the amount shown
on the pay policy line

1.6 Employee Judgements about Pay Fairness (Equity theory -> individual
perspective)
Employee compare their pay against:
1. What they think employees in the organisation earn for doing the same job
2. What they think other employees holding different jobs within their
organisation earn for doing work at the same or different level
3. What they think other employees in other organisation earn for doing the
same job
1.7 Important Choices in Setting a Pay Policy
a. variations in pay level – average amount the organisation pays for a particular
job (relative to the market)
 Market leader: pay above market wage to attract best employees -> easier to
hire and more job applicants -> higher pay expectations -> lower turnover ->
hire compensation cost

 Market lagger: pay below market wage to save money -> harder to attract
talent -> lower quality -> fewer applicants -> more likely to resign ->need
strong development to compensate for low pay -> may feel undervalued

 Market matcher: benchmark against market rate ->average ability to attract

candidates -> will stay if culture is good or might leave if more pay elsewhere

b. variations in job structure – relative pay for different jobs within the organisation
(low level vs high level employees)
 Relationship between each job and the ones above and below
 Steep structure: high differentiation between positions –> high pay on the top
with low pay on the bottom -> Eg: CEO = $30,000, Entry level = $2,000
 Flat structure: low differentiation between positions -> low pay on the top and
high pay on the bottom -> Eg: senior roles do not earn very high salaries,
junior roles do not earn very low salaries. -> CEO $15,000, Manager $12,000,
Admin $9,000
c. variations in band height – how much difference in salary do we allow among
employees who are in the same pay grade

Pay grades are set of jobs having similar worth or content, grouped together to
establish rates of pay.
 Low overlap = grades are separate and distinct = higher jobs are clearly paid
more and lower jobs clearly paid less
 High overlap = salaries for different grades overlap a lot = employees in lower
grades can earn the same as those in higher grades = unfair
 Brown squares are actual salaries of job
 Beige squares are pay grades
 Yellow line is pay policy line / market based
o Job G = points is 210, salary is 4000, falls inside the pay grade and is
close to yellow line -> matches market rate
o Job C = 160 points, $3000, below the line so pay is lower than market,
lower ovelap = lower pay grade
o N has more overlap than G and F (we’re talking in terms of the beige
boxes/pay grades.) K has also high overlap.

1.7 How Tall Should the Bands Be (not the same as the top)
*how much salary variation exists within the same grade
* how much pay can differ for two employees who are in the same pay grade

 Short bands
o Little variation – eg $3000-$3300 -> low overlapemp -> more distinct
o Everyone earns roughly the same
o Pay is tightly linked to the market
o Little managerial discretion

 Tall bands
 o Pay is much more individualised – eg $3100 and $4800
o Tall brands -> big range -> employees in same grade may earn very
different pay -> grades overlap -> good to motivate for promotion
o Opportunities for large raises and rewards

1.8 Matching Policy with Actual Practices

Compa ratio tells you whether actual salary of company matches the intended pay
policy. It is the ratio of average pay (actual pay inside the company) to midpoint of
pay range (target benchmark competitive pay/ideal).
 CR = 1 -> intended level
 CR > 1 -> paying more than planned (average more than midpoint)
 CR < 1 -> paying less than planned (average less than midpoint)

Compa Ratio = Average/Midpoint

If it is more or less than 1, HR need to work with managers to identify whether to

adjust pay structure.

*If midpoint = indicate whether individual employee receiving below or above

market rate!
1. Training and Development
1.1 Training
Training refers to a planned effort by the company to help employees be equipped
with job-related knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviour with the goal of applying
these on the job.

1.2 Instructional System Design

Instructional system design refers to the process of systematically developing
training to meet specified needs.

1. Assess needs: identify skill gaps, performance

problems or knowledge deficit

2. Ensure readiness for training: before training,

check whether employees are ready and work
environment supports learning (resources, time)

3. Plan training program: design state, what are

the objectives, trainers, training methods?

4. Implement: actual delivery of training =

engagement, reinforcement, practice, feedback

5. Evaluate results: did the training work? Any

feedback?

1.3 Issues to consider before developing a successful e-learning platform

(Assess Needs and Ensure Readiness for Training)

Before developing a successful elearning platform, employers need to consider

employees needs’, readiness for training and plan the training programme.

Employees’ Needs
Needs assessment refers to the process of evaluating the organisation, individual
employees and employees tasks to determine what kind of training is needed for
them to perform their jobs.
 Identify what employees are lacking, what they need to learn and the
outcomes they experience as a result of the training programme

What they need to learn:

a. Organisational -> is the context of training appropriate and feasible
 Determine the appropriateness of training by evaluating characteristics of
organisation
 Aligns with organisational strategy in terms of needing more skilled staff,
reducing training cost, more service skills, need more competencies
 Meets resources available for training in terms of budget, time and expertise
 Meets management support for training activities in terms of encouraging
employees to attend and practice new skills

b. Person -> identify who needs the training

 Determine individuals needs and readiness for training
 Identify why individuals are underperforming. If its because of lack of
knowledge skills and abilities, training can be implemented. Otherwise, if due
to motivation, training is not a suitable fix. This might need coaching,
incentives or better engagement.
 Are they motivated to learn? Do they have the ability to learn? If not, will fail.

c. Task -> determine the specific skills and knowledge the training must cover
 Involves the process of identifying and analysing tasks to be trained
 Need to understand
o Job equipment and environment
o Time constraints
o Safety considerations eg handling chemical safely
o Performance standards

Readiness for Training

 A combination of employee characteristics and positive work environment that
permit training
 Requires cognitive ability to learn subject matter, favourable attitudes toward
leaning, motivation to learn
 A positive work environment encourages learning and avoids interfering with
training due to situational constraints and social support
o Situational constraints: no access to equipment, no time, no budget,
poor scheduling
 o Social support: encourage training
o Managers can do so by establishing incentives for learning and
communicate about career path ahead
Planning a Training Programme
 Establishing objectives for the programme
 Based on those objectives, who will provide? What topics? Methods and how
to evaluate
 What aspects are suitable for elearning?

a. Classroom vs digital
 Digital – suitable for content that is mainly knowledge based like product
knowledge and SOPs. Simple skills that don’t require physical cues. Need to
check corresponding decrease in labour cost.

 Classroom – suitable for training that require body language, tone or real time
reactions like customer service. This involves immediate Q&A with instructor
involving more experiential learning (role plays, hands on). Can be digitalised
but expensive.

b. IQ vs EQ knowledge

IQ: suitable for elearning as it involves factual content, product info and
technical knowledge.
EQ: suitable for classroom as it covers content like customer service,
managing complaints and empathy skills.

c. Assessments vs coaching/mentoring

Assessments: suitable for elearning through quizzes, competency checks and

tests
Coaching/mentoring: suitable for classroom as it enables performance
feedback and behavioural development

Choosing a training method

a. Identify learning outcome you want training to influence
b. Consider the extent to which learning method facilitates transfer of training so
that they can apply these skills successfully
c. Evaluate costs related to development and use of method
d. Consider effectiveness of training
1.4 Implementing a Training Programme
To implement successfully:
 Need to communicate learning objectives clearly
 Present information in a very distinctive and memorable way
 Link to employees’ job as they can relate to their current job experiences and
tasks so that they can apply back after
 Opportunities to demonstrate and practice what they learned
 Feedback on demonstration/practice

The ultimate goal of training is to enable transfer of learning such that trainees
effectively and constantly apply what they have learned in training on their jobs.

1.5 Evaluating a Training Programme

To evaluate training programmes, trainers and managers can evaluate the following
outcomes:
a. Affective: measuring how people feel about the training. Did trainees and
supervisors like it? Did trainees’ motivation, attitudes and confidence
improve? Eg After customer service training, trainees feel more motivated to
serve customers. (reaction/feelings)
b. Cognitive: measuring what trainees know after training. This includes facts,
techniques, procedures and concepts they can recall. Eg After safety training,
an employee can list the correct fire evacuation procedures.
(learning/technical experience)

c. Behavioural/skills: measuring whether trainees can apply skills in tests or real

situations. Can they perform new skill properly or demonstrate on the job? Eg
After sales training, an employee can actually perform a product
demonstration correctly. (behaviour on the job in real life)
d. Results: measure actual improvements in performance at the individual, team
or company level such as higher productivity, fewer errors, better sales and
cost savings. Eg After customer service training, customer complaints
decrease by 30%. (results)

Development tools available for employees

Development refers to formal education, assessment of personalities and
abilities, job experiences and interpersonal relationships that help employees
perform effectively in their current or future job or company.

a. Formal education (broader)

 Off and on site programmes designed specifically for company’s
employees
 Short courses offered by consultants or universities
 MBA programmes
 University programmes which participants live on campus while taking
classes

b. Assessment (narrowed focus)

 Involves collecting information and providing feedback to employees about
their behaviour, communication styles or skills
 MBTI (individuals for source of energy and lifestyle), assessment centers
(evaluators evaluate performance on number of exercises at an offsite
location), performance appraisals, 360 degree feedback systems,
leadership group discussion (5-7 employees assigned to problem and
solve within a specified time period)
 c. Job experiences
 Refer to relationships, problems, demands, tasks or other features employees
face in their jobs.
 Job enlargement gives wider variety of tasks to grow skills
 Different roles to expand their understanding
 Transfer, promotion or downward (transfer = same level, promotion = higher
level, downward = learn new skills or fix performance issue)
 Externships (work temporarily in another organisation to gain exposure and
learn new practices)

d. Interpersonal relationships
 Employees can develop skills and knowledge about company and customers
by interacting with more experienced organisational member
o Coaching: structured, short term, specific. The coach ask questions to
help employee think, reflect and solve their own problem. Focused on
immediate performance. Eg I keep struggling to close sells -> what
steps did u take last sales call? Why do u think customer hesitated?
o Mentoring: informal, long term and developmental, answering
questions to employees’ questions. Eg how did you build confidence in
presenting? -> When I first started, I practiced within small groups.

1.6 Career
Career refers to a sequence of positions within an occupation or organisation.
(upward promotions)
Protean career is a career that is frequently changing based on changes in the
individual’s competencies, interests and values and changes in work environment.
(changes in interests and skills evolve)

- Eg based on interests: y1-3 = marketing executive, y4-6 = ux design, y7-10 =

product management
- New skills: accountant to hr analytics

1. Separating and Retaining Employees

1.1 Types of Employee Turnover
Voluntary: employees chose to leave
involuntary: employer terminates the employment relationship due to performance,
downsizing, misconduct, technological disruptions -> can cause workplace violence
and lawsuits

1.2 Types of employee turnover and retention

*dysfunctional turnover = good employees leave

*dysfunctional retention = bad employees stay

1.3 Key Terms of Turnover

 Employee engagement
o Degree to which employees are fully involved and committed to their
job and company

 Job satisfaction
o Pleasure or positive emotional state from the appraisal of one’s job
experiences
o Due to role, pay, supervisors or colleagues
o Dissatisfaction is the opposite, can be due to ambiguous role, conflict
with supervisors or pay dissatisfaction

 Job withdrawal
o Employees are mentally or physically pulling away from work because
something is wrong
o Avoid work psychologically or physically
 o Can be in the form of arriving late, calling in sick, requesting transfer,
leaving the organisation (physical)
o Can be in the form of decrease in job involvement (identify themselves
with job) or organisational commitment (effort put) (psychological)

 Exit interview
o Meeting of departing employee with supervisor or hr to discuss
employee’s reasons for leaving

1.4 Employee Separation

When companies fire, discipline or layoff employees, they must follow a fair and
consistent legal process and not whatever individual managers personally feel like
doing. This is because employees being terminated by the employer can have a
negative consequence financially, emotionally and legally. Hence, companies must
protect itself and its employees to avoid personal bias.
Thus, policies should be based on principles of justice and law.

1.5 Principles of Justice

a. Distributive Justice: a judgement that the consequences given to employees arre

just -> unfair outcome/punishment. For instance, 2 employees make the same
mistake but only one gets suspended. (what outcome)
 Relevant for compensation and benefits -> should be consistent across
individuals and equitably distributed
b. Procedural Justice: a judgement that fair methods were used to determine
consequences an employee receive. -> fair process. For instance, company fired
someone without investigation. Manager made decision based on personal dislike.
Process is thus unfair even if outcome might be correct. (how decision was made)
 Whether people perceive procedure as fair
  Consistent between one another and suppress any personal biases not on
falsehoods and rumours
 Take into account all groups affected by gathering info from employees,
customers and managers
d. Interactional Justice: a judgement that organisation carried out its actions in a
way that took employees’ feelings into account. -> respect and
communication. For instance, company fires an employee via email suddenly
with no empathy and explanation. This feels disrespectful. (how decision is
being communicating)

 Speaking politely and with reasons for discharge. To treat with dignity and
respect

1.6 Downsizing
a. layoffs: large scale terminations unrelated to job performance. This is temporary
and shorterm although can be eventually permanent due to reduction in job demand.
Eg A retail company lays off workers during the recession but plans to hire them
back when sales improve. (because business is slow)
b. downsizing: widespread termination with the objective to permanently reduce
number of employees due to reorganisation and restructuring. Eg A company
automates processes → removes 500 roles → those jobs never return.
(restructuring)

1.7 Effects of layoffs on employees

a. Layoff victims
 Employees who lost jobs face decline in psychological well being and mental
health
 Less satisfaction with other aspects of life like marriage and family life

b. Layoff survivors
 Employees who continue to work for organisation when coworkers are laid off
 Decline in psychological well being and mental health
 Procedural and interactional justive have positive effect on survivors’
commitment. Employees who remain feel more committeed if layoff process is
fair.
1.9 Outplacement Counselling
A service in which professionals try to help dismissed employees manage transition
from one job to another to help former employees cope with psychological issues like
losing job grief, depression and fear while helping them find a job

2. Discipline
a. hot stove rule – discipline should be given clear warning and followed up with
consistent, objective and immediate consequence (warning first)
b. progressive discipline – consequences become more serious if employee repeats
the offense (different tier of punishment – higher tier for more serious offences)

2.1 Progressive Discipline

Identifies and communicates unacceptable behaviour and responds to a series of

offences. This is to correct instead of merely punish misbehaviour. This system
should have requirements documenting rules, offenses and responses. Should also
provide an opportunity to hear every point of view and correct errors, following a
procedure that is consistent for all employees.

Rules of behaviour should cover disciplinary problems like:

1. Tardiness
2. Absenteeism
3. Unsafe work practices
4. Poor quantity ro work quality
5. Sexual harassment
6. Impaired by alcohol or drugs
7. Theft of company property
8. Cyberloafing -> using company’s internet for non related work activities
Guidelines to respond to misconduct
 Clear about performance standards
 Be consistent
 Do not ignore problem behaviour
 Investigate complaints ASAP
 Record statements in writing with signatures and dates
 Focus on behaviour, not personalities
 Documentation should be clear and complete
 Be honest

3. Labour Relations
3.1 Labour unions
Labour unions is formed to represent workers’ interests and resolve conflicts with
employers against low pay, unsafe working conditions, long hours, poor benefits and
other situations.

Impact of unions
Positive: reduce turnover by giving employees a route to resolve conflicts and
maintaining an emphasis on pay systems based on seniority and cooperate instead
of competition.

Negative: decrease in productivity due to work rules and limitations on workloads

and lost production due to strikes and work slowdowns if there are conflicts.

3.2 Goals of unions and employers

Unions: obtaining pay and working conditions and give their members a voice in
decisiosn that affect them
Employers: increase organisational profits through lower costs or raise output
Societal: law and regulations set limit on union structure and administration as well
as ways unions and management interact to prevent exploitation.

3.3 New labour relations

Skills that managers and union leaders can use to foster effective cooperation and
minimise conflict and enjoy win win solutions to disagreements:
 Labour relations strategy – company decides to take a cooperative approach
or not work with unions
  Negotiating contracts between unions and employers
 Administration contracts – once signed, managers must follow rules in it

3.4 Unions in Singapore

Defines a trade union as any association or workmen or employers whose principal
objective is to regulate tensions between workmen and employers to:
 Promote good industrial relationships
 Improve working conditions and enhance economic and social status
 Raise productivity for benefit of workmen, employers and economy of
Singapore

3.5 Challenges faced by unions today

a. demographic changes – millennials don’t see the need for unions as they already
experience safe, stable and harmonious workplaces unlike older generation
b. state governance weakens need for unions as today government provides strong
labour laws, protection and dispute resolution mechanism that cover issues like
unfair dismissal, unsafe conditions and poor wages, already protecting workers
c. employers are more modern and employee focus – today use good HR practices,
employee engagement, welfare programmes, flexible hours and career development
d. workers can easily switch jobs if unhappy to get better working conditions
e. gig work and flexible work reduce union need, they are not tied to single employer
f. automation changes nature of blue collar work – more educated, tech savvy and
aware of ther rights hence they can negotiate for themselves and are more
empowered to do so.
1. Benefits and Incentives
1.1 Incentive Pay
Incentive pay refers to a form of pay linked to employee’s performance as an
individual, group or organisational member such as sales commission or bonus.
(additional pay to those who perform well, it is NOT FIXED like salary)
It is influential because employees get incentive pay only if they achieve specific
goals that the company has defined, so the reward is not random. For instance, if the
company plans to improve customer satisfaction by 10% and employees are able to
meet those targets, they receive more pay.
This links to expectancy theory because employees know exactly what performance
is required.
Effort -> performance -> reward.

1.2 Pay for Individual Performance

a. piecework rates: wage based on the amount workers produce. This is set at a
level for above-average production volume. This is most suited for very routine,
standardised jobs with output that is easy to measure.
 Straight piecework plan – incentive plan where employees pay the same rate
per piece no matter how much the worker produces
o As assembler who produces 12 components in 1 hour.
Pay rate = 0.80*12 = $9.60 per hour

 Differential piece rates – incentive pay in which piece rate is higher when
worker produces more
o Eg $1 per component if assembles more than 12 components in an
hour
o If less than 12 components, only $0.80
o Focus is on components not hour

However, if workers are paid based on how many units they produce, they will want
to produce as much as possible. Stopping the machine to fix quality issues will slow
them down, so they would not want to stop regardless. This leads to poor quality
products where they focus on speed instead of quality.

1.3 How Incentives Sometimes “Work”

Incentives can backfire if designed poorly. When you reward someone for solving a
problem, they may start creating more of the problem to earn the reward. This is
called the cobra/rat effect.
1.4 Pay for Individual Performance (continuous)
a. standard hour plans: incentive plan that pays workers extra for work done less
than a preset “standard time”
 If data entry tasks typically takes 2 hours but operators do so in 1.5 hours, the
operator earns 2 hours worth of pay for that 1.5 hours.
b. merit pay: system of linking pay increases to ratings on performance appraisals

c. performance bonuses: bonuses reward individual performances but are not

rolled into base pay
 Employees must reearn bonus again in each period. This is not automatically
received every month and year just because you got it once.
o One-time bonus – planned in advance (eg annual performance bonus)
o Spot bonus – unplanned, given on the spot to reward good
performance immediately
o Retention bonus – paid to encourage someone to stay in the company
(eg stay 1 year will get bonus)

d. sales commission: incentive pay calculated as a percentage of sales

 A salesperson at an electronic retailer earns 10% commission of the price of
electronics sold for selling $5000 worth of electronics. So the sales person will
receive $500.

1.5 Pay for Group Performance

a. gainsharing: measures improvements in productivity and effectiveness and
distributes a portion of each gain to employees (employees will look for ways to
improve work more efficiently)
b. group bonuses/team rewards: reward members for achieving specific goals,
usually measured in terms of physical output. This can also include a broad range of
performance measures such as cost savings, project completion or meeting
deadline.
  Organisation must be careful to ensure that cost or sales does not obscure
other objectives like quality, customer service and ethical behaviour

1.6 Pay for Organisational Performance

a. profit sharing: payments percentage of organisation’s profit and are not enrolled
in employee’s base pay salary
b. stock ownership:
 Stock options – rights to buy a certain number of stock at a specified price
 Employee stock ownership plans – organisation distributes shares of stock to
all employees by placing it in a trust. Cash is then distributed when employees
resign or retire with company “purchasing” their shares.
 Not allowed to own directly, must be under employee stock option (cannot
own or trade the shares, kept by company in a trust)
 Vesting period = waiting period before benefit becomes yours to stay longer
before they can claim full benefit

1.7 Employee Benefits

Benefits contribute to attracting, retaining and motivating employees. Employees
tailor compensation to the needs of employees. Employees have come to expect
that benefits will help them maintain economic security. However, can impose
significant costs to employers.

Benefits required by Singapore law

 Retirement savings under Central Provident Fund Act
 Medical care and medical leave under Work Injury Compensation Act
 Paid annual leave, paid sick leave, paid public holidays under Employment
Act

Optional Benefits
 Life insurance, disability insurance, educational assistance, wellness
programme, long service award, exam/study leave, club/gym membership
1.8 Selecting Employee Benefits
Employers should take into account:
 Organisational goals, objectives (attract, retain, motivate) and budget (how
much money)
 Expectation of current employees (what existing employees value like
healthcare, flexible leave) and potential future recruits (important for attracting
talent)

Cafeteria Style Plans

This is a type of employee benefits plan that offers employees a set of alternatives
from which they can choose the type of benefits and amount of benefits they want.

 Benefit point system:

For instance, company gives employee 500 points to spend on benefits. Employees
can choose how to allocate them like:
 Medical insurance → 200 points
 Dental insurance → 100 points
 Extra 5 days of annual leave → 150 points
 Gym membership → 50 points

 Menu of options:
Health Benefits
 Basic medical
 Enhanced medical
 Dental
 Vision care
Leave Benefits
 Extra annual leave
 Family care leave
Lifestyle Benefits
 Wellness programme
 Gym subsidy
 Learning & development courses
Employees pick the ones they want.

 Family friendly vs personal development

A young single employee chooses:
 Extra leave
 Gym membership
 Study allowance
A parent chooses:
 Childcare allowance
 Family medical plan
 Dental coverage