The objective of a human resource strategy is to
manage labor and design jobs so people are effectively and efficiently utilized.
Human resource strategy ensures that people are
efficiently utilized and have a reasonable quality of work life
Employment-stability policies follow demand exactly, matches direct labor costs to production, incurs costs in hiring and termination and insurance, and labor is treated as
a variable cost.
Employment-stability policies hold employment constant, maintains trained workforce, minimizes hiring layoff and unemployment costs, employees may be underutilized during slack periods, and labor is treated as
a fixed cost
standard work schedules are five eight-hour days.
-flextime- allows employees within limits to determine their own schedules.
-part-time status- fewer, possibly irregular hours
flexible work week/compressed workweek-
fewer but longer days
job classification and work rules specify who can do what, when they can do it, under what conditions they can do it, which often results in
union contracts.
specifying the tasks that constitute a job for an individual or a group:
- job specialization
- job expansion
- psychological components
- self-directed teams
- motivation and incentive systems
job design
the division of labor into unique tasks; first suggested by adam smith in 1776. follows three things;
- development of dexterity
- less loss of time
- development of specialized tools
later, charles babbage (1832) added another consideration:
4. paying exactly the wage needed for the particular skill required
labor specialization
adding more variety to jobs. intended to reduce boredom associated with labor specialization, such as; job enlargement, job rotation, job enrichment, and employee empowerment
job expansion
introduced psychology into the workplace, social system and distinct roles played by individuals may be more important than physical factors, may be dominant expectation and contribution. This man studied this.
Hawthorne studies
5 core job characteristics:
- skill variety
- job ____
- job significance
- ______
- feedback
Identity, autonomy
group of empowered individuals working together to reach a common goal. may be more organized for long and short term objectives. effective because they provide employee empowerment, ensures core job characteristics, meet individuals psychological needs.
self-directed teams
to maximize effectiveness of self-directed teams, managers should:
- ensure those who have legitimate contributions are on the team
- provide __ ____
- ensure the necessary training
- endorse clear objectives and goals
- employ financial and non-financial rewards
- reduce ____ ____
management support, supervisory control
limitations of job expansion:
- higher capital cost
- individual differences
- higher wage rates
- smaller ___ ____
- higher ___ ____
labor pool, training costs
Motivation and incentive systems:
____- cash or stock options
profit-sharing- profits for distributions to employees
-gain-sharing- rewards for improvements
-incentive systems- typically based on production rates
-knowledge-based systems- reward for knowledge or skills
bonuses
the study of the human interface with the environment and machines
ergonomics
focuses on how tasks are performed. used to analyze;
- movement of individuals or material
- activities of human and machine activity
- body movement
methods analysis
use low-cost visual devices to share information quickly and accurately; displays and graphs replace printouts and paperwork; able to provide timely information in a dynamic environment
the visual workplace
effective manpower planning is dependent on a knowledge of the labor required. necessary for determining staffing requirements
labor standards
the amount of time required to perform a job or part of a job. accurate ___ ____ help determine labor requirements, costs, and fair work.
labor standards
meaningful labor standards help determine:
- labor content of items produced
- ___ needs
- cost and time estimates
- crew size and ___ ____
- expected production
- basis of _______ plans
- efficiency of employees
staffing, work balance, wage-incentive
labor standards may be set in four ways:
- historical experience
- time studies
- predetermined time standards
- work sampling
how the task was performed last time; easy and inexpensive
historical experience
involves timing a sample of a worker’s performance and using it to set a standard. requires trained and experienced observers.
time studies
