[Slide 2 –HRM covers a large area – there are many different specialties and activities associated with the management of human resources. But an overarching framework we can use for this set of three modules is that, in a nutshell, HRM is engaged in three goals: Attracting an Effective Workforce, Developing an Effective Workforce, and Maintaining an Effective Workforce. In this current module we are going to focus on this first goal. As noted in your reading, the specific activities that should occur in pursuing this goal include planning, recruitment, selection and orientation.

[Slide 3 – If HRM were to have a motto, it would undoubtedly be “to make sure the organization has the right resources at the right place at the right time”….or said another way, that the right employees with the right knowledge, skills and abilities are in place exactly when they are needed to attain our organization’s goals. Achieving this begins with proper planning. As noted in your readings, this planning process involves forecasting the demand for HR – what do we think we our human resource needs will be in the next year - or next 5 years - depending upon our planning horizon. Simultaneously we forecast our supply of HR – considering retirements, turnover, promotions, transfers, etc. how many individuals, with what skills, will be on hand and available to us. These forecasts should approximately balance. We don’t want to be caught with a labor shortage, nor with too many employees which are not being fully utilized. For example, as you may be aware, Starbucks Corporation has been growing at a phenomenal rate over the past several years, with new stores opening world wide each week. Conversely, K-Mart Corporation has been shutting down stores across the U.S. In each instance, these organizations are presented with fundamental HR planning concerns…balancing of supply and demand.

What are actions firms could take if their HR Planning process reveals a shortage or deficit of workers, as is likely the case for Starbucks? How about if the process revealed a surplus of workers, as might be facing K-Mart? What actions could they take to re-gain balance? Here are some of the options firms commonly consider.

[Slide 4- Let’s suppose, based on your planning, you decide you need to hire 15 new store managers this quarter. What type of person would you look for?

Well, this is kind of a trick question. In reality, you probably can’t answer that question since you don’t know what exactly a store management job entails, what the duties are, what skills are required. You might guess at what they might be….but you might guess wrong, and thus hire the wrong individual. That is why we must first conduct what your chapter refers to as job analysis.

[Slide 5- The job analysis provides a systematic process by which to capture detailed information about a job, a partial list of which you see on this slide. These details are often partially summarized in what are more commonly known as the TDRs, Tasks, Duties, and Responsibilities required by the job and the KSA’s – the knowledge, skills, and abilities – two acronyms commonly used by HR managers.

[Slide 6 – The job analysis provides the foundation upon which almost all other components of HRM is built. For instance, until we have completed our job analysis we won’t know where the best recruiting sources may be, nor what type of individual to select. When designing a training program, we will want to know what specific knowledge, skills, and abilities are needed for effective performance of a job – information we obtain for our job analysis. And we use our job analysis information to help us construct job-related performance evaluation system, and in determining our compensation system: jobs that are “worth” more in terms of the TDRs, and KSAs are compensated more than jobs worth less – a topic we will cover in a future module.

[Slide 7 - the detailed information gathered in the job analysis gets transformed into a more “user-friendly” document…that of the more familiar job description and job specification. If you have ever applied for a job, the job description – which can also be captured in a similar document known as a position description - was likely a document you looked at to learn specifics about the position for which you were applying.

Now that we’ve got our job description in hand we can begin recruiting. We know the type of individual we are looking for in terms of the KSAs and the TDRs they would be engaged in. We’ve identified recruiting sources, such as a college career fair, our company website, in-house job posting, which we believe would yield a high number of qualified applicants. Now we can begin the selection process

[Slide 8 – There is much greater attention to this aspect of HR in recent years. HRM has taken a page out of production management’s book where one attempts to design quality in at the source, to avoid expensive re-work. Doing a more thorough job at selection up front can save time and trouble later. Additionally, in today’s litigious environment, it is increasingly difficult to terminate unsatisfactory workers. The number of wrongful dismissal suits in on the increase in the U.S., and even if termination is warranted, it is an activity most managers wish to avoid. Lastly, to ensure compliance with employment laws it is vital to have a sound selection process in place.

[Slide 9 – The purpose of the selection process is to find the best match between what a job entails and an individual's capabilities. We should already have information on the job itself, right? Where did we get this?.......................from our job analysis. And we obtain information on the individual applicants through a variety of selection screens.

[Slide 10 – applicants are put through a variety of selection tests or screens. You notice here that the initial screens are fairly wide-gauge, simply trying to screen out applicants that are clearly not qualified. Successive screens become more fine-gauged, making finer and finer distinctions between qualified applicants such that, at the end of the day, we are fairly confident we have selected the best match of a particular job.

[Slide 11 – A question I should stop and ask at this point is that “We do not want to discriminate in our employment decisions.” Right? Would you agree with this statement?

Again, it another kind of trick question. We DO want to discriminate…that’s a basic part of a manager’s job, isn’t it? We want to be able to discriminate between different qualities of applicants or employees. I want to discriminate between better qualified and lesser qualified applicants. What we don’t want to do is discriminate on characteristics that are not really related to the job, or even more importantly, that are based on characteristics that are considered protected characteristics under federal employment law.

[Slide 12 – As noted in your reading, there are various employment related laws at the Federal level that almost all firms must comply with. Additional laws also exist at the state and local levels. The laws highlighted in red belong to a category of laws known as EEO laws, equal employment opportunity laws. These laws have been passed in order to ensure all individuals have equal access and opportunity to employment based on job qualifications, rather than based on non-job related factors such as race, religion, sex, age, or other characteristics which historically in the U.S. have been the basis for illegal discrimination.

[Slide 13 – One particular Federal Employment law deserves a bit more discussion. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was ground-breaking in its coverage. Passed by President Johnson during the hey-day of the civil rights era in the U.S., it was – like every employment law passed before or since – very controversial. It prohibits discrimination in every aspect of employment (recruitment, selection, promotion, compensation, layoffs, etc.) based on race, color, gender, religion, and national origin. These become what is known more commonly as “protected characteristics”. This set of protected characteristics has since been added to by additional employments laws so include, among other things, age and certain types of disabilities.

[Slide 14 – Title VII applies to firms with 15 or more employees (though State laws have generally made this law extend to smaller firms), and to state and local governmental agencies. An important aspect of this Federal law was it established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) a board which has field offices across the U.S. which monitors compliance with Federal employment laws and investigates complaints of illegal discrimination.

An important point to remember here is that no Federal employment law says a firm must hire an unqualified worker simply because of their protected status, say their race or gender, for example. The intent of these laws is to compel managers to simply do what is good basic management: make decisions solely based on the nature of the job, and what the job-related characteristics and qualification of individuals are, and not on irrelevant characteristics such as race, gender, religion, etc.

[Slide 15 - As far as the variety of selection tests or screens used by firms, there are a wide variety. Think about how companies obtained information on you, for the different jobs you’ve applied for.

[Slide 16 - This is the typical sequence in the selection process. Typically wide-gauge screens such as resumes and application forms come early in the process. Late in the screening process are more time-intensive background checks such as drug tests and medical tests.

[Slide 17 – Since a company has invested a good deal of time in the selection process we want to make sure our selection tests are “good tests”. That is, that the tests are reliable and valid. Think about different selection tests you are familiar with. How would you assess their reliability? Their validity. In particular, pay attention to the material presented in your chapter on the reliability and validity of the Interview as a selection screen. This is an almost ubiquitous part of a selection process, but interviews can be very problematic. What suggestions does your text have on improving how “good” the interview can be as a selection technique - increasing its reliability and validity?

In the next module we will turn our attention to developing our human resources.