I n her article, \"Human Capital Management: More Than HR with a New Name,\" aut

Question

In her article, "Human Capital Management: More Than HR with a New Name," author Linda Merritt (2007), states: "Technology displacement of labor is a fact of life in most industries (including HR). Use people where complexity, judgment, and personal interaction add competitive value" (page 14).

Merritt continues by offering "HR technology that enhances employee and manager self-services at less total cost is a win for our clients and customers, and HR outsourcing is an increasingly viable option" (pages 15%u201316).

Merritt's (2007) perspectives challenges HR professionals to be aware, adaptive, and adoptive of HRM-r technologies that enable competitive advantage for all stakeholders.

Address the following: 1.    Are Merritt's statements applicable to global organizations? 2.    What technologies might be included in an environment scan of HRM-r related technologies (for example, HRIS, ERP). 3.    How could one use the five "human capital management strategic domains"%u2014leadership, structural, workforce, cultural, and intellectual%u2014when selecting, assessing, and applying HRM-r related technologies to daily business activities?

Explanation / Answer

1)Businesses are racing to gain and sustain advantage in today's globally competitive business environment. Digital age technology is rapidly shifting where and how business is done. The pressure for profitability, to decrease the cost of production and increase revenues, fuels the need to leverage all of the sources of capital a company can access--including human capital.

HR's response has been to become HR strategic business partners. This is a great and necessary step, but the stakes are high and we need to shift gears faster--and think bigger! Either we move up the business value chain, or we slide down it driven by the twin and intertwined forces of technology and outsourcing that are already reshaping HR.

The term human capital management (HCM) is entering our lexicon of change. Most use the term interchangeably with HR, but HCM can and should be more than HR with a new name. HCM is a C-suite business discipline that develops enterprise human capital strategies and ensures the human capital portfolio is effectively managed. Just as the chief financial officer (CFO) is a full senior partner in identifying and solving business issues from a financial perspective, the chief human capital officer (CHCO) is a full senior partner in identifying and solving business issues from a human capital perspective. As C-suite members, the CFO and CHCO are accountable for overall enterprise performance. Both also have responsibilities for enabling business operations and the performance of their organizations.

HCM provides decision support by combining business and workforce intelligence to the development of enterprise human capital strategies: how to leverage people and their ideas effectively to achieve bottom-line business goals such as growing the business, increasing market share, margins, share price, and decreasing SG&A costs, as well as improving business processes, benefiting from technology investments, and increasing productivity.

__________________________________________________

2)There are data and the human resources (HR) department has always been

the custodian of employee data. The type of data collected, where the data are

stored, how the data are used, and the type of system used

for these purposes has changed over time, but the need to

collect information relating to hiring, promoting, and firing employees has not changed.

HR technology is increasingly being used by small,

medium, and large employers to meet the needs of its

stakeholders.1

What sets high-performing organizations

apart from others is how they use technology to deliver

HR services.

This chapter is going to explore the relationship of

information technology (IT) to HR and how HR leverages

technology to manage a firm%u2019s human capital. The chapter

begins with a discussion of the evolution of HR technology, and then explores HRIS systems, the HR components

that make up a system, and the process that organizations

engage in to implement an appropriate system. Next we discuss electronic HR

(e-HR) and how organizations are using Web-based technologies to enhance

their delivery of service. Then we look at the core competencies required to

manage in today%u2019s technology-driven marketplace in order to meet the expectations of HR stakeholders. To conclude, we discuss some IT-HR trends and how

these trends will impact human resources management (HRM).

________________________________________________

3)To fulfill their basic role and achieve their goals, HRM professionals and departments engage in a variety of activities in order to execute their human resource plans. HRM implementation activities fall into four functional groups, each of which includes related legal responsibilities: acquisition, development, compensation, and maintenance.

Acquisition duties consist of human resource planning for employees, which includes activities related to analyzing employment needs, determining the necessary skills for positions, identifying job and industry trends, and forecasting future employment levels and skill requirements. These tasks may be accomplished using such tools and techniques as questionnaires, interviews, statistical analysis, building skill inventories, and designing career path charts. Four specific goals of effective human resource planning are:

The acquisition function also encompasses activities related to recruiting workers, such as designing evaluation tests and interview methods. Ideally, the chief goal is to hire the most-qualified candidates without encroaching on federal regulations or allowing decision makers to be influenced by unrelated stereotypes. HRM departments at some companies may choose to administer honesty or personality tests, or to test potential candidates for drug use. Recruitment responsibilities also include ensuring that the people in the organization are honest and adhere to strict government regulations pertaining to discrimination and privacy. To that end, human resource managers establish and document detailed recruiting and hiring procedures that protect applicants and diminish the risk of lawsuits.

The second major HRM function, human resource development, refers to performance appraisal and training activities. The basic goal of appraisal is to provide feedback to employees concerning their performance. This feedback allows them to evaluate the appropriateness of their behavior in the eyes of their coworkers and managers, correct weaknesses, and improve their contribution. HRM professionals must devise uniform appraisal standards, develop review techniques, train managers to administer the appraisals, and then evaluate and follow up on the effectiveness of performance reviews. They must also tie the appraisal process into compensation and incentive strategies, and work to ensure that federal regulations are observed.

Training and development activities include the determination, design, execution, and analysis of educational programs. Orientation programs, for example, are usually necessary to acclimate new hires to the company. The HRM training and education role may encompass a wide variety of tasks, depending on the type and extent of different programs. In any case, the HRM professional ideally is aware of the fundamentals of learning and motivation, and must carefully design effective training and development programs that benefit the overall organization as well as the individual. Training initiatives may include apprenticeship, internship, job rotation, mentoring, and new skills programs.

Compensation, the third major HRM function, refers to HRM duties related to paying employees and providing incentives for them. HRM professionals are typically charged with developing wage and salary systems that accomplish specific organizational objectives, such as employee retention, quality, satisfaction, and motivation. Ultimately, their aim is to establish wage and salary levels that maximize the company's investment in relation to its goals. This is often successfully accomplished with performance based incentives. In particular, HRM managers must learn how to create compensation equity within the organization that doesn't hamper morale and that provides sufficient financial motivation. Besides financial compensation and fringe benefits, effective HRM managers also design programs that reward employees by meeting their emotional needs, such as recognition for good work.

The fourth principal HRM function, maintenance of human resources, encompasses HRM activities related to employee benefits, safety and health, and worker-management relations. Employee benefits are non-incentive-oriented compensation, such as health insurance and free parking, and are often used to transfer nontaxed compensation to employees. The three major categories of benefits managed by HRM managers are: employee services, such as purchasing plans, recreational activities, and legal services; vacations, holidays, and other allowed absences; and insurance, retirement, and health benefits. To successfully administer a benefits program, HRM professionals need to understand tax incentives, retirement investment plans, and purchasing power derived from a large base of employees.

Human resource maintenance activities related to safety and health usually entail compliance with federal laws that protect employees from hazards in the workplace. Regulations emanate from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, for instance, and from state workers' compensation and federal Environmental Protection Agency laws. HRM managers must work to minimize the company's exposure to risk by implementing preventive safety and training programs. They are also typically charged with designing detailed procedures to document and handle injuries.

Maintenance tasks related to worker-management relations primarily entail: working with labor unions, handling grievances related to misconduct such as theft or sexual harassment, and devising systems to foster cooperation. Activities in this arena include contract negotiation, developing policies to accept and handle worker grievances, and administering programs to enhance communication and cooperation.

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