JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY

OF
AGRICULTURE & TECHNOLOGY
JKUAT SODeL

SCHOOL OF OPEN, DISTANCE AND eLEARNING

P.O. Box 62000, 00200

c 2020

Nairobi, Kenya

E-mail: [email protected]

HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

This presentation is intended to covered within one week.

The notes, examples and exercises should be supple-

mented with a good textbook. Most of the exercises have

solutions/answers appearing elsewhere and accessible by

clicking the green Exercise tag. To move back to the same

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page click the same tag appearing at the end of the solu-

tion/answer.
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Errors and omissions in these notes are entirely the re-

sponsibility of the author who should only be contacted

through the Department of Curricula & Delivery

(SODeL) and suggested corrections may be e-mailed to
[email protected].

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

LESSON 2
Data Management
Learning Objectives

After reading this lesson you should be able to know about

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• Data management for Human Resource Information Sys-

tem
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• Data formats

• Entry procedure & process

• Data storage & retrieval

• Transaction processing

JJ II • Oce automation

J I • Information processing and control functions

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

• Design of Human Resource Information System

• Relevance of decision making concepts for information sys-

tem design

• Human resource management needs analysis

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• Concept & mechanics

• Standard software and customized software

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• Investment in Human Resource Information System

The human resource of any organization is recognized as the

greatest asset. With high training and educational standards,

numerous technical and professional certications, job descrip-

tions and classications, benets coverage, changing work envi-

JJ II ronments, health and safety issues, diverse working conditions

J I and pay scales, it is very much necessary to develop a compre-

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

hensive Human Resource Information System to address these

issues on a secure database.

2.1. Information System

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Information system is a systematic formal assemblage of compo-

nents to perform data processing operations of an organization

for
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1. Meeting legal data processing requirements,

2. Providing information to managers to carry out their func-

tion eectively and

3. Providing various useful reports required.

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2.1.1. Management Information System (MIS)

The Management Information System refers to connection of

managed operating system by exchange of information. It is

the operative system required to perform variety of functions

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to produce useful outputs for ecient management of an orga-

nization. It is very signicant to nd that more and more or-

ganizations emphasize application of manage- ment information

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system for increase in the eciency of management. The Man-

agement Information System utilizes computer hardware and

software, manual procedures, manage- ment decision models and

a database to provide information in support of management op-

erations, and decision-making function in an organization. MIS

JJ II is organized method of providing past, present and projected in-
J I formation relating to internal operations of an organization and
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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

external intelligence by good environmental scanning technique.

2.1.2. Human Resource Information System (HRIS)

Human Resource Information System refers to the system of

collecting, recording, classifying, presenting, processing, storing

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and disseminating various information, required for ecient and

eective management of human resources in an organization. In

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order to manage diverse, expensive, and human resource infor-

mation in complex environment, human resource department

of various organizations have increasingly used computer based

human resource information system.

Human Resource Information System (HRIS) supports strate-

JJ II gic and operational use of the human resource.

J I HRIS is required for the following purposes.

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

1. Planning human resource requirements of organization

2. Employee training & development to increase eciency

3. Formulation of policies and program relating to human

resource
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The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a soft-

ware package that provides a complete management system for

human resource activities in small-to-medium-sized businesses.

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They help streamline administrative procedures, manage em-

ployee benets, reduce the need for paperwork and manual records,

and keep track of all personal and job related employee data.

The Human Resources Information System is helpful for dier-

ent organizations to set measurable benchmarks to acquire, train

JJ II and retain the best employees, co-ordinate employee job descrip-
J I tions with areas of responsibility, schedule training for recerti-
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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

cation, safety, and revised work procedures, provide incentives

to motivate and improve employee performance, track accident

statistics and implement corporate strategies to improve overall

health and safety. While the database provides quick access and

track for the entire work history, every employee can be able
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to view only their personal information over systematic human

resource information system. HRIS can handle management of

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benets for both HR personnel and company employees. HR

directors can import payroll and benets data into HRIS from

in-house and outside sources. This allows them to manage all

facets of HR from a single location. It also provides employees

with self-service access to their accounts. With a secure system

JJ II that requires a log in ID and password for each user, employees

J I can check vacation balances, review benets data, and update

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

personal information without having to rst contact HR sta.

2.1.3. Basic Features of HRIS

In lieu of standardized paperwork, HRIS allows employees to ll

out forms online, make changes based on life events, and get in-
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formation on their benets at any time. Rather than  pulling an

employee's le, HR personnel can refer any information about

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an employee through the system, including personal informa-

tion, benets, number of dependents, emergency contacts, and

job history.

HRIS includes both standardized and customized reports.

Standard reports feature templates for various administrative

JJ II purposes including employee reviews, record keeping, workers'

J I compensation, employment history, and absence tracking. Cus-

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

tomized reports are created that incorporate categories and in-

formation unique to business. Most HRIS applications have

a comprehensive tracking system. HRIS tracking capabilities

can maintain grievances led by or against the employee stem-

ming from discipline, disputes, and complaints. Quick refer-

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ence guides can be available relating to all areas of the Human

Resources Information System, including sta benets, bene-

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t contribution rates, calendars, personnel change reason codes,

and the payroll process owchart. Detailed instructions regard-

ing establishing and changing employee benet and deduction

information, including retirement, pension, health care, exible

spending accounts and employee selected deductions.

JJ II Documentation on the human resource accounting structure

J I can be possible; including sta benet calculations and charges,

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review and correction of human resource accounts. Documen-

tation is helpful for payroll issues, including time reporting re-

quirements, check and auto deposit distribution, taxable ben-

ets, terminations, review and correction of employee pay and

leave, and tax forms. Instructions and forms for employees to

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establish or change their employee information related to the

Human Resources system, including name, address, retirement,

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pension, and health care.

2.1.4. Data Management for HRIS

Only some of the organizations have sucient policies and pro-

cedures in place to collect the majority of necessary human re-

JJ II source data. For those not having sucient policies and pro-

J I cedures in place, this deciency limit their ability to extract,

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

report or analyze performance in areas where information is not

collected and maintained in a structured format.

The organizations themselves should be aware of many of

the shortcomings in their HR data. Partly, this may be the re-

sult of a number of internal audits that had been carried out

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in the organizations, and partly, feedback from sta and exter-

nal bodies. Issues surrounding data quality indicates that data

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collection policies and procedures are not always implemented

successfully in practice.

The organizations, which take, planned and measured ap-

proach to the implementation and ongoing management of their

HRIS, tend to make more eective use of their systems. These

JJ II organizations were better positioned to generate information for

J I a greater range of strategic and operational human resource pur-

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

poses. The other organizations take a less structured, more ur-

gent approach, as short-term human resource processing require-

ments drove their management of the system.

• Elements of Data Management

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As noted above data management can be viewed as comprising

the following tasks:

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• Capture refers to movement of data from the instrument or

simulation to the storage mechanism. This often involves

some form of data selection or compression. It also involves

the creation of Meta data.

• Storage refers to the place and procedure required for stor-

JJ II age of data by the use of automated data vaults and tape

J I stores

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• Management refers to indexing and cataloguing the data

and providing methods to organize and move it from site

to site or between programs which involves meta data and

self-dening data formats.

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• Analysis refers to processing or fusion and mining the data

to extract the science.

• Visualization refers to presenting the data in a variety of

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forms to aid analysis and the dissemination of results.

2.2. Data Format

Only some of the organizations had sucient policies and proce-

dures in place to collect the majority of the necessary HR data.

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For those not having sucient policies and procedures in place,
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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

this deciency may limit their ability to extract report or ana-

lyze performance in areas where information cannot be collected

and maintained in a structured and easy to access format. Data

has motion, going from one location to another. It is more and

more moving between systems, persons, departments, and orga-

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nizations. This is essential, as it indicates that data is actually

used, rather than just stored. In order to emphasize the actual

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use of data, there is need for information or knowledge. When

data is in motion, there is not only a change of place or position,

but also change in other aspects. The data  format may change

when it is transferred between systems. This includes changes

in data structure, data model, data schema, data types, etc.

JJ II The  interpretation of data may also vary when it is passed

J I on from one person to another. Changes in interpretation are

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

part of data semantics rather than data structure. The  level of

detail may change in the exchange of data between departments

or organizations, e.g. going from coworkers to managers or from

local authorities to the central government. In this context often

changes are seen in the level of detail, by the application of ab-

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straction, aggregation, generalization, and specialization. More-

over, the  systems development phase of data models may vary.

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This is particularly the case when implementation-independent

data models are mapped to implementation-oriented models (e.g.

semantic data models are mapped to operational database spec-

ications).

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2.2.1. Common Data Format

The Common Data Format is a self-describing data format for

the storage and manipulation of scalar and multidimensional

data in a platform and discipline independent fashion. When

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one rst hears the term  Common Data Format one intuitively

thinks of data formats in the traditional sense of the word. Al-

though there may be own internal self-describing format, it con-

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sists of more than just a data format. This is a scientic data

management package, which allows programmers and applica-

tion developers to manage and manipulate scalar, vector, and

multi-dimensional data arrays. Therefore, programmers are not

burdened with performing low level physically format and un-

JJ II format data le.
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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

2.2.2. Entry Procedure and Process

All organizations should have appropriate guides and instruc-

tions, which outline the processes for entering data and prepar-

ing reports from their HRIS systems. However, in most cases,

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considerable eorts and resources are required to collect and

arrange the data for presentation to users.

Lack of awareness of the capabilities of the HRIS, and lack of

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sta training, also indicates that the capabilities of HRIS are not

being maximized in the most ecient and eective manner. In

most of the organizations, there may be a number of signicant

gaps in the human resource reports produced for management.

These gaps may be the result of the organizations not identifying

JJ II these issues as information needs or not having policies, proce-
J I dures and systems in place to capture required information.
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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

• Information used for Decisions

All organizations should use information from the HRIS to mon-

itor progress in some important HR areas and to make decisions

regarding key operational issues. Although shadow systems were

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sometimes used to generate additional HR data, particularly for

some of the more strategic HR issues, this represented something

of a missed opportunity. However, many managers consider that

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there is scope to improve the information that is provided to

them on a regular basis.

• Continuous Improvement

Although the organizations review aspects of their HR informa-

tion needs, processes and data quality from time to time, it is not
JJ II usually done as part of a systematic management plan and busi-
J I ness plan. There may be lack of basic nancial and operational
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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

information on costs, which made it impossible for the organiza-

tions to measure the cost-eectiveness of their HRIS, including

core and shadow systems, and the return on their investment.

• Human Resource Process

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The Human Resource Process includes maintenance of person-

nel records, annual review and revision of employee handbook,

audit of HR strategies, policies and procedures, implementa-

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tion of employment/termination procedures, employee develop-

ment program, performance management process, on-site sup-

port, employee retention programs, employee morale building,

and compensation plan review.

• Recruiting and Employment Process

JJ II Dierent activities of recruiting service process are employment
J I verication, job description development strategy, applicant screen-
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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

ing, reference and background check, conduct of interviews etc.

This process involves back oce support for recruitment pro-

cesses, skill testing and new employee orientation program.

• Benets Administration Processes

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Various activities of this process are brokerage services, custom

benet plan strate- gies and design, benet analysis, cost con-

trol and reduction, recommendations, develop- ment of employee

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communications, eligibility and enrollment services, employee

claims resolution, monthly invoice audit and reconciliation, on-

line employee access to benets information, health and wel-

fare, dened benet, dened contribution, employee call center,

Ecommerce etc.

JJ II • Other Processes
J I Other processes are payroll process, HR outsourcing processes,
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talent solutions consulting processes, contact center processes,

health care processes, talent and organizational change processes,

personnel policies & procedures, human resource administration

processes, training & development processes, wage and salary

administration processes, employee relations processes, knowl-

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edge management processes etc.

2.3. Data Storage and Retrieval

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A data storage and retrieval system separates information re-

garding the expertise of individuals into four les, which can

be independently and separately accessed. The records in the

various les include elds for indicating the beginning and end

JJ II of a range of topics within a hierarchical classication system,

J I the level of the topic within the classication system and a eld

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

for facilitating alphabetic sorting of topics independently of hi-

erarchical level, and a novel code format for the beginning and

end of range indicators permits a small computer to eectively

manipulate data in a hierarchical classication system.

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2.3.1. Data Storage

Data storage is a method of operating a computer system hav-
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ing memory for storing and retrieving information concerning a

subject, which comprises the following:

1. In the computer system memory, storing subject data con-

cerning a plurality of subjects wherein said data includes

descriptive phrases regarding various matters with which

JJ II said subjects are concerned and wherein said data includes

J I identifying information for identifying the subjects associ-

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

ated with said descriptive phrases;

2. Assigning selected designation numbers to said descriptive

phrases and storing said selected designation numbers in

the computer system memory in association with the cor-

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responding descriptive phrases and with the identifying

information wherein said designation numbers correspond

to a respective plurality of topics;

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3. In the computer system memory, storing a plurality of

topic headings with each heading being designated to in-

clude a specied range of designation numbers;

4. In the computer system, for each designation number as-

signed to a descriptive phrase, determining which of said

JJ II topic heading range includes said designation number and
J I storing that designation number and corresponding de-
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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

scriptive phrase in association with the associated topic

heading;

5. Searching the computer system memory for one of the

phrase descriptive of a selected matter of interest, a range

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of designation numbers, and a designation number, and if

a descriptive phrase is identied, determining the designa-

tion number;
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6. Using one of said range and designation number deter-

mined in step

7. to retrieve from the computer system memory the cor-

responding identifying information concerning the associ-

ated subject.
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2.3.2. Primary Storage

Primary storage relates to semiconductor memory chips and is

used to store the data and program currently in use. In some

data processing, all instructions and data are entered in pri-

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mary storage by which the computer completes its processing

for results to be presented. Each storage element of memory is

directly accessible which can be examined and modied without

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aecting other cells. Thus primary memory is also called Ran-

dom Access Memory (RAM). In some applications, computer's

primary storage capabilities are insucient and unable to han-

dle the instructions and data needed for processing. Primary

storage has volatile memory for which it is desirable to save the

JJ II results of processing.
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2.3.3. Secondary Storage

Secondary storage is the nonvolatile memory that is stored exter-

nally to the computer. Three secondary storage media used with

all sizes of computer are magnetic tapes, magnetic disks and op-
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tical technology. Through secondary storage, large volume of

information can be conveniently stored for future retrieval. The

two types of secondary memory available are serial access mem-

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ory and random access memory. It is helpful to understand in

terms of a cassette tape to provide serial access memory and

L.P. record to provide random access memory.

2.4. Data Warehouse for Storage

JJ II A data warehouse is a computer system designed for analyzing
J I the historical data of an organization, such as sales, salaries,
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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

or other information from day-to-day operations. Normally, an

organization summarizes and copies information from its opera-

tional systems (such as human resources) to the data warehouse

on a regular schedule, such as every night or every weekend; after

that, management can perform complex queries and analysis on

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the information without slowing down the operational systems.

The data warehouse also normally stores information at a

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coarser grain than the operational systems: for example, if the

operational systems contain a record for every sale, the data

warehouse might simply contain the total number of sales for

each product at each store. The data warehouse need not be a

relational database, as it must be organized to hold information

JJ II in a structure that best supports not only query and report-

J I ing, but also advanced analysis techniques, like data mining.

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Most data warehouses hold information for at least one year

and sometimes can reach half century, depending on the busi-

ness/ operations data retention requirement. As a result these

databases can become very large.

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2.4.1. History of Data Warehousing

Data Warehouses became a distinct type of computer database
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during the late 1980's and early 1990's. They developed to meet

a growing demand for management information and analysis

that could not be met by operational systems. Operational sys-

tems were unable to meet this need for a range of reasons:

• The processing load of reporting reduced the response time

JJ II of the operational systems,

J I • The database designs of operational systems were not op-

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

timized for information analysis and reporting,

• Most organizations had more than one operational system,

so companywide reporting could not be supported from a

single system, and

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• Development of reports in operational systems often re-

quired writing specic computer programs which was slow

and expensive
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• As a result, separate computer databases began to be built

that were specically designed to support management in-

formation and analysis purposes. These data warehouses

were able to bring in data from a range of dierent data

sources, such as mainframe computers, minicomputers, as

JJ II well as personal computers and oce automation software
J I such as spreadsheet, and integrate this information in a
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single place. This capability, coupled with user-friendly

reporting tools and freedom from operational impacts, has

led to a growth of this type of computer system.

• As technology improved (lower cost for more performance)

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and user requirements increased (faster data load cycle

times and more features), data warehouses have evolved

through several fundamental stages:

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• Oine Operational Databases- Data warehouses in this

initial stage are developed by simply copying the database

of an operational system to an o-line server where the

processing load of reporting does not impact on the oper-

ational system's performance.

JJ II • Oine Data Warehouse- Data warehouses in this stage

J I of evolution are updated on a regular time cycle (usually
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daily, weekly or monthly) from the operational systems

and the data is stored in an integrated reporting-oriented

data structure

• Real Time Data Warehouse- Data warehouses at this stage

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are updated on a transaction or event basis, every time an

operational system performs a transaction (e.g. an order

or a delivery or a booking etc.)

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• Integrated Data Warehouse- Data warehouses at this stage

are used to generate activity or transactions that are passed

back into the operational systems for use in the daily activ-

ity of the organization. Data warehouse operations com-

prise of the processes of loading, manipulating and extract-

JJ II ing data from the data warehouse. Operations also cover
J I user management, security, capacity management and re-
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lated functions.

• Optional Components
In addition, the following components also exist in some data

warehouses:
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1. Dependent Data Marts: A dependent data mart is a phys-

ical database (either on the same hardware as the data

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warehouse or on a separate hardware platform) that re-

ceives all its information from the data warehouse. The

purpose of a Data Mart is to provide a sub-set of the data

warehouse's data for a specic purpose or to a specic

sub-group of the organization.

JJ II 2. Logical Data Marts: A logical data mart is a ltered view

J I of the main data warehouse but does not physically exist as

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a separate data copy. This approach to data marts delivers

the same benets but has the additional advantages of not

requiring additional (costly) disk space and it is always as

current with data as the main data warehouse.

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2.4.2. Dierent Methods of Storing Data

All data warehouses store their data grouped together by sub-
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ject areas that reect the general usage of the data (Customer,

Product, Finance etc.). The general principle used in the major-

ity of data warehouses is that data is stored at its most elemental

level for use in reporting and information analysis. Within this

generic intent, there are two primary approaches to organizing

JJ II the data in a data warehouse.

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• Dimensional Approach
The rst is using a  dimensional approach. In this style, infor-

mation is stored as  facts which are numeric or text data that

capture specic data about a single transaction or event, and

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 dimensions which contain reference information that allows

each transaction or event to be classied in various ways.

As an example, a sales transaction would be broken up into

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facts such as the number of products ordered, and the price paid,

and dimensions such as date, customer, product, geographical

location and sales person. The main advantages of a dimensional

approach are that the Data Warehouse is easy for business sta

with limited information technology experience to understand

JJ II and use. Also, because the data is pre-processed into the dimen-

J I sional form, the Data Warehouse tends to operate very quickly.

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The main disadvantage of the dimensional approach is that it is

quite dicult to add or change later if the company changes the

way in which it does business.

• Database Normalization Approach

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The second approach uses database normalization. In this style,

the data in the data warehouse is stored in third normal form.

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The main advantage of this approach is that it is quite straight-

forward to add new information into the database, whilst the

primary disadvantage of this approach is that it can be quite

slow to produce information and reports.

• Advantages of Using Data Warehouse

JJ II Through data ware house, business decision makers can obtain
J I various kinds of trend reports e.g. the item with the most sales
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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

in a particular area / country for the last two years. This may

be helpful for future investments in a particular item. There

are many other advantages of using a data warehouse, some of

which are explained below. The data ware house

Enhances end-user access to a wide variety of data.

JKUAT SODeL

• Increases data consistency.

• Increases productivity and decreases computing costs.

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• Combines data from dierent sources, in one place.

• Provides an infrastructure that could support changes to

data and replication of the changed data back into the

operational systems.

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• Concerns in Using Data Warehouse

The use of data warehouse has the following concerns for the

storage of data for an organization.

• Extracting, cleaning and loading data could be time con-

JKUAT SODeL

suming. But this can be made easy with the help of ware-

housing tools.

• Data warehousing project scope might increase.

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• Problems with compatibility with systems already in place

e.g. transaction processing system.

• Providing training to end-users, who end up not using the

data warehouse.

JJ II • Security can be developed into a serious issue, especially

J I if the data warehouse is web accessible.

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2.4.3. Retrieval System

One form of retrieval system relates to locating and retrieving

books in a library. With the advent of computers, the devel-

opment of on-line automated catalogs for bibliographic retrieval

JKUAT SODeL

became a reality. Another form of data retrieval involves search-

ing data bases based on specic query criteria, and such data

storage and retrieval systems of great complexity and sophisti-

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cation are possible With the advent of the personal computer,

three developments occurred. First, data base application pro-

grams are created, which make it possible for any computer-

literate person to create and use his own database. Second, the

data base application programs make it very easy to modify,

JJ II change, and adapt the form and structure of existing databases.
J I Third, by creating individual databases, data control and secu-
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rity is moved much closer to the database. Eectiveness of the

data base application program is directly related to the power,

sophistication, and ease-of-use of the query or search routines

incorporated into the program.

The ability of the data base application program to employ

JKUAT SODeL

Boolean algebraic search routines, combined with the capacity

to handle searches expressed, as complex, large formulas is criti-

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cal. A signicant dimension of a retrieval system is its ability to

dene and accommodate hierarchical searching procedures. This

critical and useful dimension, usually missing from most systems

because of complexity in implementation, must be incorporated

at the time of storage and retrieval. While single-site data bases

JJ II require no special characteristics, data base systems intended

J I for multiple-site conguration pose special problems if the data

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

control and security benets inherent in single-site data bases

are not to be compromised in an eort to catalog individuals at

multiple sites and/or to provide multiple-site access to the data

base. Data retrieval can be regarded as a natural instance of

multi criteria decision-making. Queries are formulated as selec-

JKUAT SODeL

tion criteria aggregated by means of appropriate operators. Re-

trieval is then performed as a process by evaluating the degrees

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of satisfaction of the criteria by each document, and then ag-

gregating them. Another decisional instance concerns the prob-

lem of improving retrieval performance by taking into account

user indications on documents relevance. Relevance feedback

mechanisms exploit user-system interaction in order to improve

JJ II retrieval results by means of an iterative process of query rene-

J I ment. In this process the main decisional issue is that of nding

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 HEH 2410: Human Resource Information Systems

new concepts, with which to expand-modify the initial query so

that it better reects the user's information needs.

2.5. Transaction Processing

JKUAT SODeL

A transaction is a unit of program execution that accesses and

possibly updates various data items. It refers to collection of

operations that form a single logical unit of 39

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