HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

1.     Human resource management (HRM, or simply HR) is a function in organizations designed to maximize employee performance of an employer's strategic objectives. HR is primarily concerned with the management of people within organizations, focusing on policies and systems.

  

The role of human resource management is to plan, develop, and administer policies and programs designed to make expeditious use of an organization’s human resources. It is that part of management which is concerned with the people at work and with their relationship within an enterprise. 

Its objectives are: 

1. Effective utilization of human resources;
2. Desirable working relationships among all members of the organisation; and
3. Maximum individual development.

  The major functional areas in human resource management are: Planning,

1. Staffing,
2. Employee development,
3. Employee maintenance.

 PLANNING AND ORGANISING FOR WORK, PEOPLE AND HRM 

Strategic perspective 

Organization design
Change management
Corporate Wellness management

PEOPLE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT

Staffing the organization
Training & development
Career Management
Performance Management

ADMINISTRATION OF POLICIES , PROGRAMMES & PRACTICES
Compensation management
Information management
Administrative management
Financial management

ROLES
The roles listed above are now described in terms of broad functions, activities and outcomes to illustrate more or less what the descriptions will look like once the Standard Generating Groups begin to work with each role in detail.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING FOR WORK, PEOPLE AND HRM

STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE

1. Develop Human Resource plans and strategies aligned to the organization’s strategic direction. and business strategy. Provide tools and tactics to enhance execution of these strategies

4. Manage the interface between HRM processes and systems.

5. Formulate and communicate HRM policies.

6. Act as the conscience of employer with respect to people issues.

8. Assess the long-term impact of short-term decisions on people.

9. Manage people related issues accompanying mergers, alliances and acquisitions.

ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN

1. Analyze work processes and recommend improvements where necessary.

2. Recommend options for organizational design & structure.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

1. Advise management on implications of change for employees.

2. Co-ordinate & facilitate the change process.

3. Facilitate changed relationships.

4. Provide support structures for employees during change.

5. Deliberate and proactive management of the changing environment and its implications for work and the organization.

CORPORATE WELLNESS MANAGEMENT

> Develop and communicate policies and procedures with regard to the management of wellbeing

> Manage occupational health and safety

> Manage wellbeing (Employee Assistance programs & Health Promotion programs)

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

> Develop a training & development strategy according to the requirements of legislation and with the improvement of productivity and delivery as outcome.

> Conduct a training needs-assessment including the assessment of prior learning and write training & development objectives based on the outcome thereof.

> Conduct training & development.

> Evaluate training & development with regard to the return on investment.

> Promote training & development in the organization.

CAREER MANAGEMENT

> Design and implement a career management program aimed at integrating individual aspirations and organizational needs & realities.

> Manage career-related issues in the organization for example women, affirmative action and management of diversity with attention to legislation in this regard.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

1.       Human resource management (HRM, or simply HR) is a function in organizations designed to maximize employee performance of an employer's strategic objectives. HR is primarily concerned with the management of people within organizations, focusing on policies and systems.

The role of human resource management is to plan, develop, and administer policies and programs designed to make expeditious use of an organization’s human resources. It is that part of management which is concerned with the people at work and with their relationship within an enterprise. 

Its objectives are: 

1. Effective utilization of human resources;
2. Desirable working relationships among all members of the organisation; and
3. Maximum individual development.

The major functional areas in human resource management are: Planning,

1. Staffing,
2. Employee development, and
3. Employee maintenance.

 PLANNING AND ORGANISING FOR WORK, PEOPLE AND HRM 

Strategic perspective
Organization design
Change management
Corporate Wellness management

PEOPLE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT

Staffing the organization
Training & development
Career Management
Performance Management

ADMINISTRATION OF POLICIES , PROGRAMMES & PRACTICES
Compensation management
Information management
Administrative management
Financial management

ROLES
The roles listed above are now described in terms of broad functions, activities and outcomes to illustrate more or less what the descriptions will look like once the Standard Generating Groups begin to work with each role in detail.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING FOR WORK, PEOPLE AND HRM

STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE

1. Develop Human Resource plans and strategies aligned to the organization’s strategic direction. and business strategy. Provide tools and tactics to enhance execution of these strategies

4. Manage the interface between HRM processes and systems.

5. Formulate and communicate HRM policies.

6. Act as the conscience of employer with respect to people issues.

8. Assess the long-term impact of short-term decisions on people.

9. Manage people related issues accompanying mergers, alliances and acquisitions.

ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN

1. Analyze work processes and recommend improvements where necessary.

2. Recommend options for organizational design & structure.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

1. Advise management on implications of change for employees.

2. Co-ordinate & facilitate the change process.

3. Facilitate changed relationships.

4. Provide support structures for employees during change.

5. Deliberate and proactive management of the changing environment and its implications for work and the organization.

CORPORATE WELLNESS MANAGEMENT

> Develop and communicate policies and procedures with regard to the management of wellbeing

> Manage occupational health and safety

> Manage wellbeing (Employee Assistance programs & Health Promotion programs)

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

> Develop a training & development strategy according to the requirements of legislation and with the improvement of productivity and delivery as outcome.

> Conduct a training needs-assessment including the assessment of prior learning and write training & development objectives based on the outcome thereof.

> Conduct training & development.

> Evaluate training & development with regard to the return on investment.

> Promote training & development in the organization.

CAREER MANAGEMENT

> Design and implement a career management program aimed at integrating individual aspirations and organizational needs & realities.

> Manage career-related issues in the organization for example women, affirmative action and management of diversity with attention to legislation in this regard.

> Manage career-related issues surrounding organizational restructuring, downsizing & outplacement including provision of support.> Manage career-related issues surrounding organizational restructuring, downsizing & outplacement including provision of support.

Team Management Skills

Best-Practices Leadership: 

Team management tips and fun team-building activities to boost team performance, collaboration and morale

Tip #1

'Hot' tactics for heating up your team

“Hot teams” improvise, do more work with less supervision and make the extra effort to follow through.

 Tip #2

Bring the off-site energy of team-building exercises back to the office

Lead an off-site event that leaves your team energized and focused:

1. Know when a team-building exercise is successful. How will you know if you’ve achieved your goal?

When  xyz Co. executives needed to revamp and add new products, they held an off-site event to jump-start things. They invited designers, engineers and marketers from the company to spend one week hashing it out, a process that normally takes years. Result: They met their goals. Says VP  Clark, “Having that concrete goal allowed us to walk the line between exploring creative flights of fancy and remaining results driven.”

2. Make sure the team-building exercise relates to solving a real problem.

Tip #3

Fight off team complacency: 5 strategies for making team-building exercises part of your daily routine

Soon after a team forms, the excitement often peaks. Teammates dream of big accomplishments, set grandiose goals and promise to collaborate. But when the initial enthusiasm dies down, the spirited atmosphere fades and a more solemn routine emerges. Here's how to step in and breathe new life into your team if this pattern unfolds at your workplace:

• Inject new blood. Invite a few high-energy types to join the team. Don't put them in charge or they'll threaten the team leader and the informal hierarchy that's already formed. Instead, just ask them to lend their talents and revitalize the group.
• Tape the team. When a lethargic public speaker needs to liven up, a smart speech coach will videotape the individual's presentation and play it back. By raising the speaker's self-awareness, the tape serves as a training tool. The same goes when you want to jolt a team to rise to a higher level. Lecturing a team to improve might fall upon deaf ears, but a videotape of their meetings can show them just how listless they've become.
• Turn your team into trainers. Form a new team, and ask your current group to serve as an "advisory board" to it.
• Strip away routine. Study how a tired team got that way. Disrupt predictable patterns by having the group meet in new places (a nearby park, a client's facility, your home) and work together in new ways.
• Host an outing. Invite the team to join you on a weekend hike or family picnic. Schedule fun activities so that participants get to know each other with their guard down.

Tip #4

Is your team stuck? Get them unstuck with these team-building exercises.

Tip #5

Motivating Team

Baseball manager Joe  has led far more diverse and ego-driven teams than most of us ever will. Yet, Torre’s teams have won repeatedly, thanks to these four “rules of straight communication” he has developed over the years:

 1. Remember that every player has a special need for one of these things: motivation, reassurance or technical help. Determine what that need is and meet it.

2. Deliver tightly focused, positive messages, such as a quick word of praise for a good play. Simple words of appreciation are more powerful motivators than many leaders expect.

3. Work hard to establish rapport with team members from backgrounds that are different from your own. It does take extra work, but the results can be extraordinary.

4. Let team members know that you accept the full range of their emotions, including fear and uncertainty. Unless people admit their fear, they will never be able to confront obstacles and grow.

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Tip #6

Tap into creative, fun team-building activities

Find out which fun team-building activities administrative professionals recommend in Best-Practices Leadership.

Tip #7

High-performing teams exhibit 5 traits

An effective team displays five baseline criteria, according to management consultant

1. Team members trust each other.

2. They deal constructively with conflict.

3. They are committed to doing well.

4. They feel personally accountable for the team’s success.

5. They focus on achieving results as a team, not just as individuals who happen to work together.

Tip #8

Is your team the ideal size?

When it comes to the ideal team, more is definitely not merrier. That’s according to researchers who study well-functioning teams. If you’re finding it tough to accomplish much with a team project you’re working on, consider whether you have too many heads on the task.

Tip #9

How to refuel a sputtering team

To refuel a sputtering team, redirect the group’s focus away from easy, safe tasks to more ambitious stretch goals.

Motivate them to “think big” by dangling fresh, meaningful rewards for stellar effort. Offer to give each team member a choice of three prizes if the group attains specific, measurable objectives.

Tip #10

Dealing with team 'negatives'

If you’re dealing with negative team members, keep the situation under control by taking these steps:

• Take strong action against them, no matter how popular they are. Giving preferential treatment to someone who’s not delivering results sends a signal that you’re afraid of him—hardly the message you want to send through the ranks.

• Avoid politicking against negatives. It’s tempting to try to build consensus against them or express your frustrations to other members of your team. Be careful, since doing so can degenerate into a power skirmish that will erode your integrity as a true team leader.

Tip #11

Re-energize your team: 3 quick tips

1. Encourage your team to ask you the hardest questions they can think of, not the easiest. That’s what the Dalai Lama asks journalists to do when they interview him. It’s a leadership practice that’s worth copying.

2. Poll your team members to find out where they’d like to see your organization next year, in the next five years and on into the next decade. Post responses on a whiteboard, and use them to brainstorm for a new, shared sense of mission.

3. Keep your team motivated during demanding periods by stressing the personal side. Try a simple statement such as, “Is there anything I can do for you?” It shows you haven’t forgotten the “give” side of “give and take.”

KAIZEN (CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT)

Kaizen (or ‘continuous improvement’) is an approach of constantly introducing small incremental changes in a business in order to improve quality and/or efficiency. 

This approach assumes that employees are the best people to identify room for improvement, since they see the processes in action all the time. A firm that uses this approach therefore has to have a culture that encourages and rewards employees for their contribution to the process.

Kaizen can operate at the level of an individual, or through Kaizen Groups or Quality Circles which are groups specifically brought together to identify potential improvements. This approach would also be compatible with Team working or Cell Production, as improvements could form an important part of the team’s aims.

The key features of Kaizen include:

• Improvements are based on many, small changes rather than the radical changes that might arise from Research and Development
• As the ideas come from the workers themselves, they are less likely to be radically different, and therefore easier to implement
• Small improvements are less likely to require major capital investment than major process changes
• The ideas come from the talents of the existing workforce, as opposed to using R&D, consultants or equipment – any of which could be very expensive
• All employees should continually be seeking ways to improve their own performance
• It helps encourage workers to take ownership for their work, and can help reinforce team working, thereby improving worker motivation

As Kaizen is characterised by many, small improvements over time, it contrasts with the major leaps seen in industry when radical new technology or production methods have been introduced. Over the years, the sheer volume of Kaizen improvements can lead to major advances for a firm, but managers cannot afford to overlook the need for radical change from time to time. For example, many UK manufacturers and service companies have found it necessary to outsource processes to cheaper centres such as India and China – these changes would be unlikely to arise from Kaizen.

Kaizen can be seen as an unrelenting process. Some firms set targets for individuals or for teams to come up with a minimum number of ideas in a period of time. Employees can find this to be an unwelcome pressure, as it becomes increasingly difficult to find further scope for improvement. Some firms, especially Japanese-owned, conduct quality improvement sessions in the workers’ own time, which can lead to resentment unless there is appropriate recognition and reward for suggestions.

For Kaizen to be effective there has to be a culture of trust between staff and managers, supported by a democratic structure and a Theory Y view of employees. Good two-way communications and a de-layered organisation would also support this approach. Nevertheless, some workers might see the demands as an extra burden rather than an opportunity and it can take time to embed Kaizen successfully into an organization’s culture.

Six Sigma

Step 1 - Learn about six-sigma.

Six-sigma is a set of improvement methods and methodologies that are proven and established. Six-sigma survives with the help of tools and measurements that can effectively improve processes and products. So, to summarize – an organization uses proven facts to manage and execute processes when six-sigma is implemented.

In six-sigma, the variations and deviations from the expected output is minimized. Each six-sigma level is measure against the level of deviation from the desired and acceptable output.

Step 2 - Learn about the key measurements used in six-sigma.

· Critical to quality (CTQ),

· Mean (μ),

· Standard deviation,

· Defects per million Opportunities (DPMO), and

· Process capability (Cp, Cpk).

Step 3 - What are the improvement methodologies in six-sigma?

a. DMAIC to reduce process variations and defects to ultimately improve processes.

Define --> Measure --> Analyze --> Improve --> Control

b. DFSS to design new processes and products.

Define --> Measure --> Analyze --> Design --> Verify

c. Lean Six-sigma to improve efficiency and speed of the processes.

·                     Zero Wait Time

·                     Line Balancing

·                     Zero inventory

·                     Process Scheduling

·                     Reduce Investment

·                     Reduce Batch Sizes

·                     Reduce Process Cycle Time

Step 4 – How can six-sigma be applied in software industries?

There is no clear-cut information or guideline to this, but there are several ideas that can be experimented with.

The first step is to analyze the area, which needs improvement. And to do this, the organization will need to monitor a project closely and examine as to which areas does the project lack quality in. Is it requirements gathering, design or testing?

Some clear indicators of missed/poor quality may be:

· Too many regression defects.

· Release cycles take longer than anticipated and planned. 

· Requirements being left out during development and testing. 

· Large gap between design and development.

Based on the indicators, it is easy to focus on the problem area. Once the problem area is identified, the DMAIC methodology or some variants can be applied to successfully implement six-sigma. Before that we need to study the problem factors in detail, such as:

· Number of regression defects after each fix.

· Number of regression defects per module.

· How much is each release delayed by, and are there any external factors contributing to this delay such as network unavailability, resource shortage etc.?

· Number of uncovered requirements per module.

· How many design specific defects are being uncovered in each story?

Once the factors are studied, analyzed and understood, six-sigma must be applied to eliminate the reasons for low quality by introducing ideas, procedures, tools and utilities.

· Carrying out a round of sanity testing to make sure regression defects are found out, fixed and thus minimized with every passing cycle. 

· Use of an appropriate defect prevention or defect reduction tool.

· Prepare Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM) to ensure that all requirements are covered/tested.

· Preparation of gap analysis document to capture any left out requirements.

· Proper communication procedure established between design and development team. 

Step 5 - What role does six-sigma play in software quality?

The whole point of implementing six-sigma in organizations is that as time goes by, six-sigma becomes the way of doing things. So, in software industry, when six-sigma is implemented:

· Development and integration is speeded up.

· Testing quality is improvised. 

· Repeatability of software development process is improved.

· More focus is given to customer requirements. 

· Overall software process improvement.

· High quality product delivery.

Step 6 - Learn about implementing Six-sigma

· Get help from professional bodies.

· Establish a dedicated management team.

· Train employees and QA professionals on six-sigma.

· Choose projects to implement six-sigma wisely.

· Give importance to customer needs.

· Understand the financial aspects (expenses and gain) when six-sigma is implemented. 

· Establish the required infrastructure for successful implementation six-sigma.

· Once implemented, study financial and operational results. 

· Continuously monitor and improve the processes. 

Step 7 - Does implementing six-sigma guarantee returns?

It is a debatable topic as to how six-sigma can actually benefit a software organization. Improvising quality will increase customer satisfaction that will ultimately improve business profits and reputation. However, the investment that six-sigma demands must be measured against the organization size, its competition in the market and whether six-sigma can actually benefit the organization.

and its employees.