HR 3

What is the key difference between job descriptions and job specifications? What are some examples of each? Why are job descriptions and job specifications important to HR planning?

A job description defines the job holder's responsibilities while the job specifications are the qualifications for doing the job. For the example of a band manager, job description items could be the following: working with the music group to make major decisions regarding the creative and business direction of the band, negotiating recording contracts and engagement fees, and helping band members understand their rights and responsibilities. Job specifications may be a bachelor's degree in music management, a minimum of three years managing a high profile band, and excellent communication and networking skills. Because it allows HR to know what kinds of skills and positions they already have and what kinds they need to hire.

Which of the pay-for-performance methods do you believe works best, both from a business and a worker standpoint?

Commission involves payment as a percentage of sales. Usually, larger commissions go with smaller base pay. Bonuses are lump sum payments, typically to reward strong performance from individual employees. Profit-sharing plans reward employees with a share of company profits above and beyond predetermined goals. Stock options are the right to buy shares of a company stock at some future date for the price of the share on the day that the company awarded the options. Pay for knowledge - this approach involves awarding bonuses and pay increases in exchange for increases in knowledge such as earning an MBA.

Which pieces of federal labor legislation do you believe are most important? Why

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 - Sets Minimum wage & overtime for working more than 40 hours per week Equal Pay Act of 1963 - Men and Women doing equal jobs get equal pay Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 - Workers get safety equipment & sets maximum exposure to hazardous substances Immigration Reform andControl Act of 1986 - Employers must verify employment eligibility of new hires Americans with disabilities Act of 1990 - Can't discriminate against people with disabilities and says you must make reasonable accommodations for them Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 - (required of firms with 50+ employees) allows for 12 weeks of secure unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child or serious illness of a spouse, child, or parent

Looking ahead, do you believe that job flexibility options—from flextime, to telecommuting, to job sharing—will continue to grow at American businesses? Explain your answer.

Flextime - a scheduling option that allows workers to choose when they start & finish their work days, as long as they complete a required number of hours. Compressed work week - A version of flextime scheduling that allows employees to work a full-time number of hours in less than a standard workweek. Telecommuting - working remotely - most often from home - and connecting to the office cia phone lines and/or broadband networks. Job Sharing allows two or more employees to share a single full-time job. Splitting the salary equally, but full benefits are often allocated to one partner Fewer than 20% of employers in the U.S. offer job sharing.

HR Problems and Solutions

HR professionals lack sufficient strategic skills Perception problems undermine the effectiveness of the HR's strategies HR professionals should implement ways to quantify their impact on the company HR people should remain open to exceptions while enforcing broad company policies

Why do interviews tend to be ineffective at determining whether a candidate will perform well on the job? How can managers improve the interview process?

Interviews say surprisingly little about whether a candidate will perform on the job; too often an interview session is treated as a get-to-know-you session rather than focused on the needs of the position. Utilize a structured interview process: an interviewing approach that involves developing a list of questions beforehand and asking the same questions in the same order to each candidate.

How has management's attitude toward human resources changed in the past couple of decades? What factors have influenced this change?

Management believes HR lacks sufficient strategic skills. They al;so believe they lack business acumen. This could be because talented individuals aren't choosing to go into HR.

HR Challenges

Managing layoffs and outsourcing Maintaining the link between pay and performance Losing key talent and experience through massive retirements Managing young employees who have a sense of entitlement Handling discrimination faced by women, which results in brain drain Offering work-life balance Avoiding lawsuits by knowing the law and encouraging legal practices

Compare and contrast computer-based training and classroom training. From a business perspective, which do you think is more effective? Why?

Online can be very engaging, the presentation is standardized vs. a classroom training where training would vary on a teacher by teacher basis. With the web, employers can train employees wherever they are in the world, however, it does require employees to have discipline and self-motivate to and some people ultimately learn better with human interaction.

Human Resource Management

Recruiting, selecting, training, evaluation, compensation/benefits, separation