Human Resources

EXAM:10.05.2024
Notes

Topic 1: Introduction
1. Human resources management - strategic, integrated and coherent approach to the
employment, development and well-being of the people working in organizations
2. HR goals
a. Support the organization in achieving its objectives by developing and
implementing HR strategies that are integrated with the business strategy
(Strategic HRM)
b. Contribute to the development of high-performance culture
c. Ensure that the organization has the talented, skilled and engaged people
d. Create a positive employment relationship between management and
employees and climate of mutual trust
e. Encourage the application of an ethical approach to the people management
3. 5P HRM model
a. Philosophy – how the organization regards its HR, the role they play in the
overall success of the business and how they should be treated and managed
b. Policies – guidelines for action on people-related business issues and for the
development of HR programs and practices based on strategy needs
c. Programs – consist of coordinated HR efforts intended to initiate and manage
organizational change efforts prompted by strategic business needs
d. Practices – activities carried out implementing HR policies and programs
(resourcing, learning and development, performance reward management,
employee relations and administration)
e. Processes – form procedures and methods used to put HR strategic plans and
policies into action
4. Agile HR – manage changes in the environment, improve adaptability and strengthen
the organization trough the introduction of agile talent management practices
a. Practices
i. Data based decision making
ii. Flexible thinking, focused on added value for customers
iii. Flexible leadership
iv. Co-creation with employees. Focused on people
b. Components
i. Performance assessment
ii. Coaching
iii. Teams
iv. Compensation
v. Recruitment
 vi. Learning and development
vii. Cognitive technology – recognizes the tone of published messages in
company blogs, discussion board, chat rooms
5. Functional approach to HRM
a. Social management
i. Favorable work and leisure conditions
ii. Positive work climate
iii. Social partnership
b. Personnel management
i. Balance between organization’s interests and employee interests
ii. Cooperation with unions
iii. Considering current and prospective interests of the organization
c. Tactical management
i. Recruitment and selection
ii. Training and development
iii. Performance appraisal
iv. Staff promotion
v. Staff forecasting and planning
vi. Retirement and layoffs
6. Information technologies
a. Work
b. Work place
c. Work force
7. Evolution of HRM
a. Welfare – till 1920
b. Labor management – 1920 – 1940
c. Personnel – 1980 –
d. Human capital – 2000 –
e. Talent/ people – 2010 -
Topic 2: Competency based HRM
1. Competency -based HRM – using the notion of competency and the results of
competency analysis to inform and improve HR processes concern with recruitment
and selection. Learning and development, and performance and reward
management
a. Competency – characteristic of a person that results in effective or superior
performance
2. Competency frameworks – defines the knowledge, skills and attributes that
employees need to have if they are to perform successfully
a. Provide the basis for use of competencies in areas such as recruitment and
selection, learning and development, and performance management
3. Examples
a. Team orientation
b. Problem solving
 c. Business awareness
d. Influence and persuasion
4. Developing a competency framework
a. Programme launches
b. Involvement and communication
c. Framework design – competency list
i. definition of competencies
d. Define uses of competency framework
e. Test the framework
f. Finalize the framework
g. Communicate
h. Train
i. Monitor
Topic 3: Work, Organization and Job description
1. Organization design – decision on how the work is carried out and how should be
divided between individuals/ aims to ensure that people are working effectively
together to achieve the overall goal of the company
a. Guidelines
i. Allocation of work
ii. Levels in the structure
iii. Span of control
iv. One person, one boss
v. Decentralization
vi. Optimize the structure
vii. Relevance to purpose and context
b. Approaches
i. Mechanistic design
1. Structure
a. Formal
b. Hierarchical (command and control)
c. Distinct functional units
2. Work
a. Tightly defines jobs
b. Minimal scope in job for decision making
c. Closely controlled work groups
ii. Organic
1. Structure
a. Informal
b. Flat, lean and flexible – horizontal processes
c. Lattice structure
2. Work
a. Flexible roles
b. Enriched roles with more autonomy
 c. Self-managed teams
c. Process of organization design
i. Activity analysis
ii. Structural analysis
iii. Diagnosis
iv. Choice of design
v. Implementation
2. Work design – concerned with how the various processes required to make a product
or provide a service should operate together
a. Process centered organizations avoid rigid work systems instead focus on a
stream of products or services
b. Process planning – may determine how manufacturing or the provision of
service should be divided into a series of stages, each of which adds value
3. Approaches to work design
i. Smart working – aims to drive greater efficiency and effectiveness
ii. Agile working – stay open to new directions and be continually proactive
iii. Lean manufacturing – reducing waste and ensuring the flow of production
in order to deliver value to customers
iv. Flexible working
v. High performance working
vi. Automation
4. Job design
a. The need of job design
i. Improve performance
ii. Need for changes in the organization
iii. Staffing issues
iv. Need to increase job satisfaction
5. Model of job quality
a. Working conditions
b. Employment conditions
c. Employment relations
d. Job design
e. Worker outcomes
6. Jobs and roles
a. Job is an organization unit consisting of defined tasks, mainly about tasks
b. Role is part played by individuals, mainly about people
7. Characteristics of jobs
a. Range – number or variety of activities
b. Depth – amount of discretion a job holder has to decide job activities and job
outcomes
c. Relationships – interpersonal relationships between job holders and
managers/ co-workers
8. Task structure – internal structure of each task
a. Planning
 b. Executing
c. Controlling
9. Method of working
a. Fixed time
b. Output based
10. Principles of job design
a. Division of activities into simpler elements and operations
b. Objective – specialization, higher productivity, low skills
c. Main weakness – routine, monotony
d. Job enrichment – aims to maximize the engagement and challenge of work by
providing the employee with a job that:
 Complete piece of work in the sense that the worker can identify a series
of tasks or activities that end in a recognizable and definable product
 Affords the employee as much variety, decision making responsibility and
control as possible in carrying out the work
 Provides direct feedback through the work itself on how well the
employee is doing the job
i. Principles
 Changing jobs and job duties over time
 Objective – improvement of qualification
 Doesn’t solve the basic problems of alienation from work
1. Increase the level of scope and depth of job content
11. Job characteristics model
a. Skill variety
b. Task identity
c. Tasks significance
d. Autonomy
e. Feedback
12. Job descriptions
a. Job title
b. Reporting to
c. Reporting to job holder
d. Overall purpose
e. Main activities, tasks or duties
13. Role profiles
a. Role title
b. Department
c. Purpose of role
d. Key results areas
e. Knowledge, skills and abilities required
f. Behavioral competencies
Topic 4: Workforce Planning
1. Human Resource planning
 a. Meaning of HR
i. Part of general planning
ii. Relationship between HR needs and available staff
iii. Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of HR required
iv. Development of programs to meet the need for HR
b. Scope
i. HR in general
ii. Demand and supply of labor in the organization
iii. Development of the human factor in the organization
iv. Recruitment, selection, appointment, dismissal
v. Development and improvement of remuneration systems
vi. Development and improvement of individual and collective labor
c. Goals
i. Balance between HR needs and organization ability to meet them
ii. Security and stability of the organization I terms of staff
iii. Achieving the required productivity and quality of activities
2. Phase 1 – needs analysis and forecasting
a. Analysis stage
i. Purpose – establish the quantitative and qualitative parameters of
available staff
ii. Contents – situation analysis, analysis of external and internal
environment
b. Identification of future HR needs – need to forecast the development of the
organization
i. Characteristics
1. Probabilistic nature
2. Uncertainty
3. Lack of possibility of development precludes prediction
4. Possible when we have sufficient information about the system under
study past and present
ii. Identification of future HR needs
1. The number of HR
2. Structure of the organization
3. Knowledge and skills requirements
iii. Determination of future HR needs – organization’s need for HR
1. Volume of production
2. Output per employee
3. Operating revenue
4. Volume of services provided
5. Return on investment
6. Working hours
7. Labor productivity
c. Forecasting techniques
i. Expert assessment (aggregated)
 1. Starts form the labor needs at the lowest levels
2. Next levels, information that the lower levels didn’t have is taken into
account and so the overall prediction of the organization’s workforce
need if formed
ii. Delphi method
1. Independent work of a group of unrelated experts
2. Discussion of their evaluations in the group
3. Correcting individual assessment according to the results of the group
discussion
4. Discussion and consolidation of the evaluations within the group
iii. Statistical methods (regression analysis)
1. Relationship between two or more variables
2. Parameters are adjusted so that the equation describes the data under
study and gives predicted values for future periods
iv. Statistical methods (based on past trends)
1. Between employment and its influencing factors
2. Between the volume of services offered and the number of employees
d. Analysis and forecast of sources of HR
i. Sources
1. Internal – the personnel reserve of the organization
a. Movement outside the organization
b. Movement within the organization
c. Turnover – real and protentional
d. Emphasis on voluntary turnover
2. External – labor market, other organizations, universities
e. Balance of needs
i. Possible scenarios – having the right balance; greater than the capacity to
meet them; excess staff
ii. Shortage of HR
1. Opportunities to reduce the number of jobs
2. Opportunities for one person to combine two jobs
3. Mechanization and automation
4. Programs to reduce turnover and retain staff
iii. Excess HR
1. Early retirement schemes
2. Combining positions of two persons
3. Training courses with time away for work
4. Re-training courses for vacancies
5. Lay off
f. Strategy development
i. HR needs
ii. Recruitment and selection
iii. Training and dev
iv. Assessment, compensation and motivation
 v. Organizational culture, corporate social responsibility
vi. Improving employee relations
g. Development plans and programs
i. Planning – organize the activities and resources
ii. Covers all areas of HR
1. Quantitative and qualitative parameters of required personnel
2. Analyzing and designing positions
3. Training and dev
h. Organization and control – control systems
i. Control bodies
ii. Frequency
iii. Procedures
iv. Evaluation
v. feedback
Topic 5: Recruitment and Selection
1. Recruitment – process of finding and engaging the people the organization needs
2. Selection – part of the recruitment process concerned with deciding which applicants
or candidates should be appointed to jobs
3. Process
a. Defining requirements
i. Role profiles – purpose of the role
ii. Person specification
1. Knowledge; skills and abilities; behavioral competencies; qualifications and
training; experience; specific demands; specific requirements
b. Attracting candidates – sources
i. Online; social media; advertising; etc.
c. Dealing with applications
i. Examining information from candidates
ii. Processing application
iii. Sorting applications
iv. Draw up an interviewing program
v. Administering the selection program
d. Selection methods
i. Interviews
ii. Selection testing
iii. Assessment centers
e. Provisional offers and obtaining references
i. Main purpose – obtain in confidence factual information about a prospective
employee
ii. Confirm the nature of the previous job, the period of time in employment
f. Checking applications
g. Offering employment
h. Following up
4. Competency requirements for a recruitment adviser
a. Knowledge of:
i. All aspects of recruitment
ii. Sources of recruits
iii. Different media for use in recruiting
iv. Relevant test instruments
b. Behavioral competencies
c. Skills and abilities
i. Interviewing techniques
ii. Test administration
iii. Role analysis
Topic 6: Learning and Development
1. Talent development – process of changing an organization, its employees, its
stakeholders, and groups of people using planned and unplanned learning in order to
achieve and maintain a competitive advantage for the organization
2. Talent development vs training
a. Talent development is broader
3. Talents affecting talent development
a. Innovative workforce
b. Flexible organizations to adapt to rapid changes
c. Employees demanding more from their employers
4. Activity focused vs results focused
a. Activity focused
i. No business need for the program
ii. No assessment of performance issues
iii. No specific measurement objectives
iv. No effort to prepare participants for results
b. Results focused
i. Program linked to specific business need
ii. Assessment of performance
iii. Specific objectives for behavior and business impact
iv. Results expectations communicated to participants
5. Methodology of talent development
a. Identification of participants
b. Multifaceted data gathering
c. Synthesized feedback
d. Action planning
e. Follow-up
6. Measurement of talent development
a. Reaction and satisfaction
b. Learning
c. Application and implementation
d. Business impact
 e. Return on investment
7. Coaching – form of development in which a person called a coach supports a learner
a. Coaching to positive emotional attractor (PEA) – helping others in their
intentional change process
i. Learning; change; adaptation
b. Coaching to the negative emotional attractor (NEA) – in response to
organization’s desire or a boss’s mandated objective
i. Conformity
ii. Stress
iii. Loss of potential
8. International change theory – ideal self; real self; strengths; gaps; learning agenda;
experimenting with being a leader; practicing being a leader
Topic 7: Talent management
1. Skill vs talent
a. Skill – the ability, knowledge, practice to do something well
b. Talent – natural ability to do something
i. The economist – power of mind
ii. McKinsey – sum of personal abilities
iii. Longman dictionary – a natural ability to do something
2. Etymology – in Greek a talent refers to “a denomination of weight” while today it is
referred as capital
3. Talent management benefits
a. Talented employees contribute to a more considerable extent to the fulfillment of
organization’s strategy and economic goals
4. Talent management – systematic attraction, identification, development,
engagement, retention and deployment of talented individuals
a. Recruiting; performance management; maximizing employee potential; retaining
people with desired skills and aptitude
5. Talent management vs HRM
a. HR – broad scope; focus on administrative functions; transactional; focus on
systems with silo approach
b. TM – focus on segmentation; potential people; attraction, dev, retention of
talent; integration of HR systems
6. TMS analysis
a. Talent supply chain
b. Workforce planning
c. Customize EVP
d. Focus HR investments
e. Critical talent management
f. Employee database
Topic 8: Employees wellbeing
1. Wellbeing – how people feel and function, and how they evaluate their lives
2. Employee wellbeing – concerned with what people experience at work in terms of
a. Physical situation
b. Mental situation
c. Financial
d. Work-life balance
e. Relationships with their line manager and colleagues
f. The extent to which they have a sense of purpose
g. Feeling in control of what they do
3. Aspects
a. Hedonic aspect – people’s feeling or emotions
b. Eudaimonic aspect – leaning “a life well lived” – how people interact with the
world around them
c. Evaluative aspect – assessments people make and how their life is going
4. Dimensions
a. Happiness – subjective experiences of work
b. Mental wellbeing – covers the psychological aspects of employee health at
work
5. Domains
a. Health
b. Work
c. Values/ principles
d. Collective/ social
e. Personal growth
6. Factors affecting wellbeing
a. Work environment
b. Job design and demands
c. Relationships with line managers/ colleagues
d. Work life balance
e. Financial wellbeing
f. Stress
7. Wellbeing strategy
a. Investment in employees
b. Engaging work
c. The creatin of a positive and physical environment
d. Enhancing the role of voice
e. Provision of organizational support
8. Trends
a. Employees will demand more flexible and hybrid work
b. Organization will do more to address employee mental health
c. Organizations will develop and implement a holistic employee leave strategy
d. Investments in enrolment tech
e. Addressing diversity, equity and inclusion
Topic 9: Performance Management
1. Performance management system – defining performance, measuring performance,
feeding back performance information – link the employee activities with the
organization’s goals
a. Performance management – employee activities and outputs are congruent
with organizational goals
b. Performance feedback – information regarding their performance effectiveness
c. Performance appraisal – organization get information on how well an employee
is doing on the job
2. Aims of performance management
a. Strategic communication
b. Relationship building
c. Employee development
d. Employee evaluation
3. Performance management cycle
a. Plan – performance planning/ performance agreement
i. Role definition, objectives, competencies, performance improvement,
personal development
b. Act – performance activities
i. Carry out role, implement performance improvement plan, implement
personal development plan
c. Monitor – manage performance throughout the year
i. Monitor performance, provide continuous feedback, provide coaching, deal
with under performance
d. Review – joint analysis of performance
i. Dialogue and feedback, performance assessment, agree strengths, build on
strengths
4. Defining performance
a. Goals – setting has a proven track record of success in improving performance
b. Measures – must be able to measure the extent to which goals have been
accomplished
c. Assessment – regular assessment of progress toward goals focuses the attention
and efforts of an employee or team
5. Relationship of performance standards to job or work analysis and performance
appraisal
a. Job or work analysis – describes work and personal requirements of a particular
job
b. Performance standards – translate job requirements into levels of acceptable/
unacceptable performance
c. Performance appraisal – describes the job relevant strengths and weaknesses of
an individual or team
6. Methods of appraising employee performance
a. Behavior oriented rating methods
i. Relative rating system – compare the performance of employees to that of
other employees
 ii. Absolute rating system – evaluate each employee in terms of performance
standards without reference to others
b. Results- oriented rating methods
7. Measuring performance: Ranking and forced distribution
a. Simple ranking – order all employees from highest to lowest, from best to worst
employee
b. Alternation ranking – crosses off best and worst employee, the others are
measured in these limits
c. Overall distribution of ratings – is forced into a normal, bell shaped, curve
i. Some are good, some are bad, the rest are in between
8. Visual performance assessment matrix

9. Fairness
a. Employee involvement and employee participation
 b. Voice – refers to the various ways in which employees take part in decision-
making
i. Voluntarist system –countries whose legal systems are based on British
common law principles and whose economic policies tend to favor the free
operation of market forces; countries: the UK, the US, Australia, Ireland,
Canada, New Zealand
ii. Mandatory system – countries whose management is obliged to allow
employee voice to be expressed and exercised: Germany, Austria, the
Netherlands, France, Spain
c. Consistency
d. Relevance
e. Communication
Topic 10: Reward Management
1. Challenges in planning and administering a pay system
a. Understand economic and legal factors that determine pay levels
b. Tie compensation strategy to general business strategy
c. Address key policy issues
d. Develop systematic pay structures
2. Financial vs nonfinancial reward systems
a. Financial – direct payments (salaries); indirect payments (benefits)
b. Nonfinancial – positive employer brand
i. Employee involvement in decision making
ii. Effective supervision
iii. Recognition
iv. Training opportunities
v. Supportive, nurturing company culture
3. Dimensions of equality in pay systems
a. Internal equality – relative worth of individual jobs to an organization are pay
rates fair
b. External equality – are the wages paid by an organization fair in terms of
competitive market rates outside the organization
c. Individual equality – each of the employee’s salaries fair relative to the other
employees
4. Determinants of pay structure
a. Labor market conditions
b. Legislation
c. Collective bargaining
d. Managerial attitudes
e. An organization’s ability to pay
5. Pay systems based on job evaluation – important characteristics of each job, so that
the relative worth of jobs can be determined
a. Compensable factors – job characteristics that an organization is willing to pay
for
 b. Market based pay system – direct market pricing approach for all of a firm’s jobs
c. Competency based pay system – workers are paid on the basis of their skills or
on their depth of knowledge
d. Rule of thumb
i. Jobs of the same general value should be clustered into the same pay grade
ii. Jobs that clearly differ in value should be in different pay grades
iii. Smooth progression of point groupings
iv. New system should fit realistically into the existing allocation of pay
6. Globalization and geographic region and pay structure – salaries can differ across the
world even if its for the same position in the same company
7. Pay strategy in MNCs
a. Standardization vs localization
i. Globally standardized approach – used more often for managerial staff
ii. Localized approach for non-managerial employees
Topic 11: International HRM
1. Global trends shaping talent management
a. Aging workforce
b. Lack of STEM talent
c. Increased worker mobility
d. Retention of key talent
e. Rise of the freelance economy
2. Create a culture of mobility
a. Business need  Business strategy  Talent strategy  Talent mobility 
Organizational impact
3. Build a talent mobility process
a. Track assignee data
b. Evaluate assignees for assignment selection
c. Coach assignees throughout the assignment
d. Repatriate assignees after an assignment ends
4. Global TM practices by HCI
a. Making data-based decision – identify skill gaps and leveraging employee profiles
i. Predicting readiness for global rotations with tools such as assessments
b. Developing global competencies
c. Strengthening the global pipeline
Topic 12: Information Technologies and HRM
1. Evolution of HRIS
a. Until World War 2 (until 1945) – impact of scientific management – the staff
in the Personnel Department were involved in maintaining a record of
workers, the information was based on transactional- premium pay systems
b. After WW2 (1945 - 1960) – first job descriptions, increased union activity, first
computerized personnel info management system used in the army, pay
processes are automated
 c. Era of social issued (1960 - 1980) – new legal requirements, establishment of
a HR management department, increased used of computers, formation of
the first management info systems
d. Era of cost efficiency (1980 - 1995) – increasing administrative burden for
organizations, reduce costs, activation of transformation HRM activities
e. Era of the Tech boom (1995 – present) – internet, dev of ICT, strategic focus
on people management, use of HR metrics
2. Comparison of the systems

3. ISHRM definition – Human resources management information system – use to

collect, store, process, analyze, display and disseminate information about an
organization’s HR for the purpose of managing them and supporting management
decisions
4. EHRM and HRIS
a. EHRM – electronic HR management deals with the provision of HR services
and activities through IT
b. HRIS – it focuses on modelling info flows in the organization, basic
prerequisite for the transition to eHRM
5. HR activities – classification of Wright, McMahan, Snell & Gerhart 1998
a. Transactional – related to record keeping
b. Traditional – planning, recruitment, selection, training, reward, performance
management
c. Transformational – add value to the organization – organization change,
structural reorganization, strategic realignment, and innovative development
6. Advantages of HRIS
a. Detailed info in and integrated database
b. Improves the efficiency of HR processes
c. Provides timely and relevant info for management decisions
 d. Easily summarize info and generate reports
e. Facilitates the introduction of strategic HRM
f. Increases employee satisfaction
7. ISHRM development process
a. Planning  Analysis  Design  Implementation  Support
8. Types of HRIS
a. Operation info
b. Managerial info
c. Top management
d. Decision making
e. Expert info
f. Office automation
g. Collaboration
h. ERP