Human Resource Management,

Arab World Edition

Gary Dessler, Akram Al Ariss

Chapter 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management

Lecturer:

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 After studying this chapter, you should be able
to:

1. Explain what human resource management is and how it

relates to the management process.
2. Give at least eight examples of how all managers can use
human resource management concepts and techniques.
3. Illustrate the human resource 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.

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 Introductory Overview of Human Resource
Management

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 The Management Process

Planning

Controlling Organizing

Leading Staffing

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 The Management Process

• 1. Planning: Setting the goal

• 2. Organizing: dividing tasks / setting departments and
structure
• 3. Staffing: Identifying what type of people and skills is
needed and hiring them and following up on their
performance
• 4. Leading: Motivating others
• 5. Controlling: comparing performance based on the
standard

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 Human Resource Management at Work

What is Human Resource Management (HRM)?

The policies and practices involved in carrying out the
‘people’ or human resource aspects of a management
position, including:

○ Recruiting (Gathering the CVs)

○ Screening (Checking for the good ones and eliminating others)
○ Orienting (Sharing important information about the place and the
rules and expectations)
○ Managing (Make sure that people are behaving and acting as
needed)
○ Developing, Training (Teaching you new skills)
○ Rewarding (Compensation payment and bonuses and other)
○ and Appraising employees at work (Evaluation)

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 Human Resource Management at Work

Acquisition

Fairness Training

Human
Resource
Management
Health and
(HRM) Appraisal
Safety

Labor Relations Compensating

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 HRM at Work

• Acquisition: Attracting (Making people apply) and selecting

people (Choosing the best among them)
• Training: Providing them with the skills needed to perform the
job
• Appraisal: Assess their performance based on what is required
from them
• Compensation: Design financial and nonfinancial packages for
them
• Labor Relations: Creating a good atmosphere for employee
relations and opportunities for growth
• Health and safety: make sure that employees work in a
physically and psychologically safe environment
• Fairness: Ensure equality always

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 Personnel Aspects of a Manager’s Job

• Conducting job analyses (Know what the job is about)

• Planning labor needs and recruiting job candidates
(Forecasting)
• Selecting job candidates
• Orienting and training employees
• Managing wages and salaries
• Providing incentives and benefits
• Appraising performance
• Communicating (interviewing, counseling, disciplining)
• Training and developing managers
• Building employee commitment

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 What is the State of HRM in Arab Countries?

Culture, history, economy, political issues, and local policies

such as nationalization, as well as religion – all these factors
influence the state of HRM in Arab countries.
For example:

• High unemployment rates prevail in Tunisia and Egypt

and Lebanon being today around 40%.
• Arab companies have adopted an administrative
approach but this is changing.
• Little attention has been given to the real value of people.
• ‘Kuwaitization’ exemplifies mandatory local employment.

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 Personnel Mistakes and why HRM is important

• 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 taken to court because of unfair actions
against employees.
• Have your company taken to court for unsafe practices.
• Have some employees think their salaries are unfair 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

• The bottom line of managing is getting results by

increasing performance and productivity of the
employees
• HR creates value by engaging in activities that produce
the employee behaviors that the company needs, to
achieve its strategic goals.

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 Line and Staff Aspects of HRM

• Authority: the right to give authority / orders

• Hierarchy : sets the line of authority / superior-subordinates
relationship – the chain of command

There are several types of managers:

• Line manager (Direct Manager):
– Is someone who is authorized to direct the work of subordinates and
is responsible for accomplishing the organization’s tasks - the core
work;

• Staff manager
– heads a revenue consuming department –(Not the core activity of the
business) (accounting, customer service, human resources) which serves the
line managers of the organization in an advisory or support capacity by
providing them with information and advice.
– Staff managers usually do not make operating decisions

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 Line Managers’ Human Resource Duties

1. Placing the right person in the right job

2. Starting new employees in the organization (orientation)
3. Training employees for jobs that are new to them
4. Improving the job performance of each person
5. Gaining creative cooperation and developing smooth
working relationships
6. Interpreting the company’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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 Human Resource Managers’ Duties

Line Function Coordinative

Line Authority Function
Implied Authority Functional Authority

Functions of
HR Managers

Staff Functions
Staff Authority
Innovator

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 HR Manager’s duties:

1. Line function: within his department the HR Manager is

the one that exerts the line of authority. They also have an
implied authority (because of other’s knowledge that he or
she has access to top management)
2. Coordinative function / Functional Authority or functional
control to ensure that other line managers are
implementing the firm’s HRM policies
3. Staff Function: the HRM assists and advises the CEO to
better handle personnel aspects and achieving strategic
role

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 Human Resource Specialties

Recruiters

Labor Relations Job Analysts

Specialists
Human
Resource
Specialties
Training Compensation
Specialists Managers

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 FIGURE 1-1
HR Organization Chart
for a Large Organization

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 FIGURE 1-2 HR Organizational Chart for a Small Organization

• The Human Resource Specialist is the one who handles 1 HR function

• Generalist when he or she handle more than 1 function ex: Compensation
and training and development

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 The Changing Environment of Human Resource
Management

Globalization Trends

Technological Trends
Changes and Trends
in Human Resource
Management
Trends in the Nature of Work

Workforce Demographic Trends

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 The Changing Role of Human Resource
Management

Strategic Human
Resource
Management

Managing with the New Creating High-

HR Scorecard Responsibilities Performance Work
Process for HR Managers Systems

Measuring the HRM

Team’s Performance

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 1. Strategic Human Resource Management –
CHAPTER 3

• Strategic Plan: How to match your internal strength and

weaknesses with external opportunities and threats
• Strategy: long term plan to achieve your goals
• Strategic HRM: Formulating and executing HR systems
(Policies and activities) that produce employee
competencies and behaviors to achieve strategic aim

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 2. Creating High performance work systems

• Focus is on productivity and performance through:

1. Technology (ex: Table in next slide 2.1) + outsourcing
ex: by adopting new technology (Internet, electronic billing
and analytical programs
2. Human Resource Practices – training and testing
(Personality tests. IQ. Emotional Intelligence…)
3. High-performance work systems: An integrated set
of HRM policies and practices that together produce
superior employee performance (via Selective hiring /
Training / information sharing) and via Systems and
procedures
ex. of Practices: Information sharing, self managed
teams, transformational leadership, training)

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 Benefits of a High-Performance Work System
(HPWS)

• Reduces wasta (use of family and other close networks to

obtain work-related favors unrelated to merit)
• Generates more job applicants
• Screens candidates more effectively
• Provides more/better training and lower employee turnover
• Links pay more explicitly to performance and appraisals
• Fosters a safer work environment
• Produces more qualified applicants per position
• Results in higher profits and lower operating costs
• Uses more self-managing work teams

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 3- Measuring HRM team’s performance

• Metrics: Quantitative performance measures that HR

managers use to assess their performance
Quantitative means numerical and scientific values that are
clear and not subjective

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 TABLE 1-3 Five Sample HR Metrics

HR Metric How to Calculate It

Absence rate # of days absent in month

× 100
Average # of employees during month × # of workdays

Cost per hire Advertising + agency fees + employee referrals + travel cost of
applicants and staff + relocation costs + recruiter pay and benefits
Number of hires

HR expense HR expense
factor
Total operating expense

Time to fill Total days elapsed to fill job requisitions

Number hired

Turnover rate # of separations during month

× 100
Average # of employees during month

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 4- Managing within the HR Scorecard Process –
CHAPTER 3

• HR Scorecard: It is an approach that focuses on measuring

the HR functions' effectiveness and efficiency in producing
employee behaviors needed to achieve strategic goals
• (Its links the contribution of the HR department to the
overall organizational goals)

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 The Human Resource Manager’s Proficiencies

Four Categories of Proficiencies (degree of skills)

1. HR proficiencies: Traditional knowledge – ex: major in HR

2. Business proficiencies: New strategic role / sitting on the
board thinking for the long term.
3. Leadership proficiencies: drive change / motivate
4. Learning proficiencies: necessity to stay up to date with
the changes
Specific Proficiencies
• HR certification / new degrees / new trainings
• Managing within the law / understanding it and the changes
happening
• Managing ethics: judging wrong and right

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 The Human Resource Manager’s Proficiencies
(cont.)

HR Certification:

• Arabian Society for Human Resource Management

(ASHRM)
- Professional Human Resource Development
(HRD) Certificate
- Master of Science in HRD
- Professional Human Resource Management
(HRM) Certificate
- Master of Science in HRM

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 The Human Resource Manager’s Proficiencies
(cont.)

Managing within the Law

• Immigration laws
• Occupational safety and health laws
• Labor laws

Managing Ethics
• Ethical lapses have occurred in major corporations
• Most serious ethical lapses are HR-related
• Arab world ethics are influenced by religion and ethnicity

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 The Plan of This Book: Basic Themes

• HRM is the responsibility of every manager.

• HR managers must defend their plans and contributions
in measurable terms.
• All personnel actions and decisions have strategic
implications.
• Today all managers rely on information technology.
• Virtually every personnel decision has legal implications.

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 Key Terms

authority line authority

ethics
line manager
functional authority or functional control
globalization management process
high-performance work system metrics
HR Scorecard
outsourcing
human capital
staff authority
human resource management
(HRM) staff manager
implied authority
strategic human resource
management (SHRM)
strategic plan
strategy
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