Gary Dessler

tenth edition

Chapter 1 Part 1 Introduction

The Strategic Role of

Human Resource Management
© 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook
After studying this chapter,
you should be able to:
1. Explain what human resource management (HR) is and how it
relates to the management process.
2. Give at least eight examples of how managers can use HR
concepts and techniques.
3. Illustrate the HR management responsibilities of line and staff
(HR) managers.
4. Provide a good example that illustrates HR’s role in formulating
and executing company strategy.
5. Write a short essay that addresses the topic: why metrics and
measurement are crucial to today’s HR managers.
6. Outline the plan of this book.

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HRM DEFINITION
• (HRM or HR) is the strategic approach to the effective and
efficient management of people in a company or organization such
that they help their business gain a competitive advantage. It is
designed to maximize employee performance in service of an
employer's strategic objectives.
• (HRD) is seen as a system of a larger system in an organization.

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WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE

human resource management (HRM) function. Human resource

management (HRM) is the process of acquiring, training, appraising, and

compensating employees, and of attending to their labor relations, health

and safety, and fairness concerns.

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The Manager’s Human Resource
Management Jobs
• Management process
• The five basic functions of planning, organizing,
staffing, leading, and controlling.
• Human resource management (HRM)
• The policies and practices involved in carrying out the
“people” or human resource aspects of a management
position, including recruiting, screening, training,
rewarding, and appraising.

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 What Is Human Resource
Management?

• The Management Process

o Planning
o Organizing
o Staffing
o Leading
o Controlling

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Personnel Aspects Of A Manager’s Job
• Conducting job analyses (determining the nature of each employee’s job)
• Planning labor needs and recruiting job candidates
• Selecting job candidates
• Orienting and training new employees
• Managing wages and salaries (compensating employees)
• Providing incentives and benefits
• Appraising performance
• Communicating (interviewing, counseling, disciplining)
• Training and developing managers
• Building employee commitment

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Personnel Mistakes
• Hire the wrong person for the job
• Experience high turnover
• Have your people not doing their best
• Waste time with useless interviews
• Have your company in court because of discriminatory actions
• Have some employees think their salaries are unfair and inequitable relative to others in the
organization
• Allow a lack of training to undermine your department’s effectiveness
• Commit any unfair labor practices

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Basic HR Concepts
• Getting results
• The bottom line of managing
• HR creates value by engaging
in activities that produce
the employee behaviors
the company needs to
achieve its strategic
goals.

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Functions of the HR Manager
• A line function
• The HR manager directs the activities of the people in his or her own
department and in related service areas (like the plant cafeteria).
• A coordinative function
• HR managers also coordinate personnel activities, a duty often referred to as
functional control.
• Staff (assist and advise) functions
• Assisting and advising line managers is the heart of the HR manager’s job.

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Line and Staff Aspects of HRM
• Line manager
• A manager who is authorized to direct the work of subordinates and is
responsible for accomplishing the organization’s tasks.
• Staff manager
• A manager who assists and advises line managers.

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Line Managers’ HRM Responsibilities
1. Placing the right person on the right job
2. Starting new employees in the organization (orientation)
3. Training employees for jobs new to them
4. Improving the job performance of each person
5. Gaining creative cooperation and developing smooth working relationships
6. Interpreting the firm’s policies and procedures
7. Controlling labor costs
8. Developing the abilities of each person
9. Creating and maintaining department morale
10. Protecting employees’ health and physical condition

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HR and Authority
• Authority
• The right to make decisions, direct others’ work, and give orders.
• Implied authority
• The authority exerted by an HR manager by virtue of others’ knowledge that
he or she has access to top management.
• Line authority
• The authority exerted by an HR manager by directing the activities of the
people in his or her own department and in service areas.

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Cooperative Line and Staff HR
Management
1. The line manager’s responsibility is to specify the
qualifications employees need to fill specific positions.
2. HR staff then develops sources of qualified applicants
and conduct initial screening interviews
3. HR administers the appropriate tests and refers the best
applicants to the supervisor (line manager), who
interviews and selects the ones he or she wants.

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A Changing HR Environment
• Globalization
• Technological Advances
• Exporting Jobs
• The Nature of Work
• Workforce Demographics

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Benefits of a High Performance Work
System (HPWS)
• Generate more job applicants
• Screen candidates more effectively
• Provide more and better training
• Link pay more explicitly to performance
• Provide a safer work environment
• Produce more qualified applicants per position
• More employees are hired based on validated selection
tests
• Provide more hours of training for new employees
• Higher percentages of employees receiving regular
performance appraisals.
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 KEY TERMS
management process employee advocacy
human resource management globalization
(HRM)
nontraditional workers
authority
human capital
line manager
strategy
staff manager
metrics
line authority
HR Scorecard
implied authority
outsourcing
functional control

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