#9 : Summary : Topic 4, 5 & 6

These days it is simple common sense to have all records computerised, making them easy to retrieve for reporting purposes and easy to keep up-to-date as employees’ circumstances change. HR online system shows both employees and customers that the organization has a sophisticated approach to the management of their businesses and the development of their staffs.

In general, e-recruitment helps to stop people from ‘flooding’ to the organization and resume in hand. Advertising in newspapers is still done, but it's expensive and slow. However, e-recruitment is low cost and person can generally easy to be found and hired. Posting the ad is usually free or very cheap too. So, it assists to drastically cut down on costs.

On the other hand, by integrating online induction, up-to-date messages from management and supervisory staff can be included in the induction program so that new employees become aware not only of roles and company structure, but also of the culture into which they are being inducted. In this way, a consistent approach to the ‘company ethos’ can be presented to all staffs.

Meanwhile, performance management is very significant in HR field. Thus, the organization needs to have clearly articulated goals. The entire staff should then establish individual goals that align with these organizational goals. Moreover, the manager must give employees a formal feedback as it helps both the employees and the organization know who’s performing, who needs development and who’s not a right fit.   (241)

#8: Topic 6 : Performance Management

Performance management can be defined as the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities (Armstrong, 2003). Performance management is a whole work system that begins when a job is defined as needed and it ends when an employee leaves your organization.

According to Cardy and Leonard (2011), the purposes of the performance management are to driving results, building capability and growing talent. In my opinion, performance management can drive improvement in business results, through the individual and group’s measurement, performance coaching and performance information sharing. Moreover, by clarifying role-specific goals, competencies and feedback, individual capability can be developed. Plus, by providing career development programs, it may help to motivate and retain high performers in the organizations.

There are five crucial stages in performance management which are plan, monitor, develop, review and reward. Immediate supervisor will assess the performance. Besides, employee itself, peers, coworkers and internal and external customers will also make the performance assessment. Paired comparison, MBO and Graphic Rating Scale are the tools used by the organizations for performance appraisals of their employees (Robbins and Coulter, 2009).
 

Michael Armstrong and Angela Baron (2005) in Managing Performance: Performance Management in Action stated that an effectively implemented performance management system can benefits the organization, managers and employees.

· Organization’s benefits – improved organizational performance, employee retentiona and loyalty and cost advantages.
· Manager’s benefits – saves times, reduce conflict and ensures efficiency.
· Employee’s benefits – clearly defines career path and promotes job satisfaction.

Unfortunately, there are some conflicts happen in performance management. As mentioned by Robert Bacal (1999), discouragement and inconsistent message are two of arising potential conflicts. If the process is not a pleasant experience, it has the potential to discourage staff. The process needs to be one of encouragement and positive reinforcement of accomplishments. Moreover, if a manager does not keep notes and accurate records of employee behavior, they may not be successful in sending a consistent message to the employee.

Finally, there are three categories of role of technology in supporting the performance management. These are the web, third party vendors and ERP providers. (426)

References:

1. Armstrong, M. (2003). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. UK: Kogan Page Publishers.

2. Cardy, R. L., Leonard, B. (2011). Performance Management: Concepts, Skills, and Exercises. USA: M.E. Sharpe.

3. Armstrong, M., Baron, A. (2005). Managing Performance: Performance Management in Action. London: CIPD Publishing.

4. Bacal, R. (1999). Performance Management. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.

5. Robbins, S. P., Coulter, M. (2009). Management. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

#7 : Topic 5 : Online Induction

According to Rainer and Cegielski (2009), online induction system is an online employee induction system which is easily manage and reporting of the induction process of new employees to expose new employee in their new environment organizations and promotion requirement. The purpose of the induction period (which may be a few hours or a few days) is to help a new employee settle down quickly into the job by becoming familiar with the people, the surroundings, the job and the business.

It is important to give a new employee a good impression on the first day of work. However, the induction program should not end there. It is also important to have a systematic induction program, spread out over several days, to cover all the ground in the shortest effective time. For me, several people who may include in the process of online induction are senior management, supervisors or line managers, personnel officers, health and safety managers, and also employee or trade union representatives who will be much information about the organization.

In the book of IT Induction and Information Security Awareness by Valerie Maddock (2010), he discussed about items should be covered in an effective induction program. These are Introduction to the business or department and its personnel or management structure, layout of the buildings such as factory or offices, terms and conditions of employment (explaining the contract of employment), relevant personnel policies, such as training, promotion and health and safety, business rules and procedures, arrangements for employee involvement and communication, and lastly is welfare and employee benefits or facilities. Hence, the induction provides a really good opportunity to socialize and brief the newcomer on the company's overall strategy, performance standards and impression of the culture of the organization.

Salmon (2004) mentioned that there are some advantages for the organization when implementing the online induction. Firstly, it is cost effectively provide new employees with online induction. If carefully done, it will save time and cost in terms of faulty products or poor services. For instance, reduce manual administration to decrease the cost of induction, deliver procedures, quizzes, tests, and surveys to the new employees online and also include documents, videos and other rich media in your induction process. In addition, in the article of Rapid Induct: Online Induction System, it stated that top management able to update the organizational content anytime and anywhere. With constant changes to regulations, company policies and worksite conditions, it gives them control to instantly update your information or any corrections can be made online before orientation.

However, there are also some drawbacks when executing the online induction. Patrick McGhee (2005) discussed about this in his book, titled of The Academic Quality Handbook: Enhancing Higher Education in Universities and Further Education Colleges, which online induction may be poor website. This is due to website is poorly designed or out of date, so, the new employees may not even relying on company website to gain additional information about the company, its mission and method of operation. There's also the possibility that the site won't have relevant information regarding the candidate's area of interest.

Last but not least, I can conclude that induction is very important part of welcoming process into the organizations for new employees as it gives the organization the opportunity to deliver the company message and standards before the new employees ‘hit the shop floor’. (561)

References:

1. Rainer, R. K., Cegielski, C. G. (2009). Introduction to Information Systems: Enabling and Transforming Business. USA: John Wiley and Sons.

2. Maddock, V. (2010). IT Induction and Information Security. UK: IT Governance Ltd.

3. Salmon, G. (2004). E-moderating: The Key to Leaching and learning Online. London: Taylor & Francis Books.

4. McGhee, P. (2005). The Academic Quality Handbook: Enhancing Higher Education in Universities and Further Education Colleges. New York: Routledge.

5. Rapid Induct: Online Induction System http://www.rapidinduct.com.au/docs/Rapid_Induct_low_res.pdf

#6 : Topic 4 : Recruiting and Staffing

The buzzword and the latest trends in recruitment is the ‘e-Recruitment’. It is also known as ‘Online Recruitment’. Edwin B. Flippo (1980) defined recruitment as a process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment. The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applications are submitted. The result is a pool of applications from which new employees are selected and then making an appointment for interview session. While, according to Schreyer & McCarter (1998) e-recruitment refers to

“the recruitment process, including placing job advertisements, receiving resumes, and building human resource database with candidates and incumbents.”

It is the use of technology or the web based tools to assist the recruitment process. Schreyer & McCarter (2000) stated that the tool can be a job website, the organization’s corporate web site or its own intranet. Hence, I can understand that the job seekers send their applications or curriculum vitae (CV) through an e-mail using the Internet. Alternatively, they will place their CV’s in worldwide web, which can be drawn by prospective employees depending upon their requirements.

Cushway (2011) mentioned some of the advantages of e-recruitment. Firstly, it is cost effective. It is usually considerably cheaper to advertise on the internet than in conventional paper based publications. Next, it gives the organization a better chance of success. Organizations have the ability to reach a much larger target audience as there will be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, global access to their vacancy information. Plus, Rosita Mohamed Othman and Nadianatra Musa (2006) stated that it is easy and sophisticated. Most job sites and CV databases are very user-friendly and job seekers don’t need to have an in-depth knowledge of IT to post a vacancy advertisement.

On the other hand, Tanya Bondarouk, Huub Ruel and Jan Kees Looise (2011) in Electronic HRM in Theory and Practice stated that e-recruitment also has some disadvantages. E-recruitment may receive too many applications from too many candidates. Since the Internet is available around the world, it can be difficult to limit the amount of applicants. As a result, recruiters can waste valuable time weeding through applications and resumes of people not qualified for the position. Moreover, it is less face-to-face contact. Because of the distance involved, there might be a tendency to perform interviews by telephone instead of in person. Thus, the recruiter still may not get a good read on the candidate's personality or attitude without one-on-one interaction. Furthermore, e-recruitment is a time and cost consuming. It might be necessary to hire additional staff for handling the screening process, thus creating additional expense.

In my opinion, there are some suggestions that can be implemented to overcome these drawbacks. Firstly, the organization should make the job description as specific and detailed as possible to discourage the unqualified from applying. Thus, it will decrease the number of applicants and it also requires less time to review all applications. Secondly, e-recruitment can be used for only looking for junior positions and from recent university graduates. However, traditional recruitment can be used for recruiting top management. It is because executive job applicants still prefer personal contact as communication isn’t just about words. Only 7% of meaning is conveyed by the language used, 38% is transferred as a result of the way the words are spoken, while a massive 55% is down to body language. Lastly, organizations cannot be dependent solely and totally on the online recruitment methods. As I stated above, some executive positions are not suitable to use the e-recruitment because personal contact is necessary to manage the expectations and ensures feedback from the contact is positive. (603)

References:

1. Schreyer, R., McCarter, J. (1998). The Employer's Guide to Recruiting on the Internet Impact. Virginia: Impact Publications Manassas Park.

2. Schreyer, R., McCarter, J. (2000). Recruit and Retain the Best: Key Solutions for the HR Professional. Virginia: Impact Publications Manassas Park.

3. Flippo, E. B. (1980). Personnel Management. Columbus: McGraw-Hill.

4. Cushway, B. (2011). The Employer's Handbook 2011-12: An Essential Guide to Employment Law, Personnel Policies and Precedures. UK: Kogan Page Publishers.

5. Bondarouk, T., Ruel, H., Looise, J. K. (2011). Electronic HRM in Theory and Practice. UK: Emerald Group Publishing.

6. Mohamed Othman, R., Musa, N. (2006). E-recruitment Practice: Pros Vs. Con : Public Sector ICT Management Review. 1(1). 35-40.

7. http://www.inpharm.com/news/careers-voice-online-recruitment-don-t-take-it-face-value

#5 : Summary : Topic 1, 2 & 3

The development of HRIS field has been seen to have an important impact to all organizations along with the technology diversity nowadays. The purpose of the HRIS is to provide service by facilitating employees with an accurate and timely information, easy as at the tip of their fingers.

Furthermore, businesses are changing more and more rapidly. This poses a challenge to existing information systems, which are often inappropriately structured to meet these needs. As we know, processes that used to be manual are now automated and it has been heavily applied into today's offices. Therefore, they should have an ability to deliver high quality products or services by effective sales and marketing too.

In general, many organizations need HRIS to improve information sharing and communication between the company and the employees. HRIS made it easy for the HR department to smoothly operate all components. For example, attendance, disciplinary action, personal employee information updating, recruitment and selection and also payroll. With the accurate and objective tracking of compensation and benefits, employees' morale and motivation increases. Moreover, the HRIS reduces cost and time spent on manual data. It allows the HRM managers to focus more on making decisions and projects rather than paperwork.

                                                 

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#4 : Topic 3 : Globalizing HRIS

It is becoming more important and critical to the organization as the area of HRIS becomes more strategic and more global. There are three types of HRIS Organizational Model. These are Multinational, Global and International. While, Translational Model has three components that needed to be emphasized too. These components are Global Efficiency, Local Flexibility and Innovation or Sharing.

First, Multinational Model is being sensitive to local needs and also to individual cultural and national differences. This model lacks on focusing on centralized corporate direction. The advantage of this model is suitable for huge branches or conglomerates because centralized or decision making is little benefit to acquire. However, the disadvantage of this model is numerous head of departments will have a hardship to communicate and coordinate with each other and it leads to re-invention. Re-invention means there is no improvement because they are not sharing information among themselves.

Next, Global Model focuses on managing and implementing HRIS by building a single, standardized and centralized system. A uniform global operating environment is seen by firms as the driving force. This model is suitable for firms which are providing a single standardized product or service such as Microsoft and Celcom Axiata. Thus, it will reduces overall costs. But, Global Model inclined to force diverse operating units into such rigid structures that they revolt.

The last model is International Model. This model allows local to control decisions, assets and responsibilities. The advantage for this model is easier to transfer and adapt of knowledge and expertise to other business units from any country that develops it to local firms. Furthermore, this model is suitable to be implemented in new companies or new comers. Anyhow, it creates a situation where neither corporate nor local needs area adequately met.

The Translational HRIS Model treats regional business units as distributed resources. This model is benefit for massive and multinational cultures with under significant competitive pressures. Thus, it leads to this model to respond effectively to the demands brought by Sturmund Drang of the Digital Age.

The first component of this model is Global Efficiency which it is need to leverage best practices and technology from around the world. An integrated and interdependent network of HRIS knowledge, resource and expertise should be build. The integrated network provides cost efficiencies and increases a rare group of technical and managerial resources. The example of HR functions that benefit from this model is pension program management.

The next component is Local Flexibility which is a uniform treatment of foreign operations. It is an obstacle to structure the flexibility and responsiveness that HRIS needs today. We need to legitimize diversity and also appreciate multiple perspectives to be responsive to local needs. Competency management and financial incentives are two examples of HR functions that benefit from Local Flexibility.

The final component is Innovation or Sharing. We should have a strong commitment towards learning and sharing in the organization. Innovation is not only about in our products and services, but it is also innovation in our organization and processes. Some examples of HR functions are business process design and product or service development.

                                                                        
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reference :

1.   Beaman, K. & Walker. A. J. (2000). Globalizing HRIS: The New Translational Model. IHRIM Journal.

#3 : Topic 2 : IS For Competitive Advantages

Strategic planning in utilizing information systems is the key to gaining a competitive advantage. Managerial decision makers do not want to purchase new systems for the upgrade unless there is a plan to maximize its capabilities. Thus, I think that IS should be viewed as assets and a means to gain a competitive lead in the industry, not as a commodity. There are three strategies to maximize the IS. These are Cost Leadership, Differentiation Strategy and Innovation Strategy.

In Cost Leadership, Porter (1985) stated that the firm sets out to become the lowest cost producer in its industry. Hence, this strategy is about minimizing the cost to the organization of delivering products and services. It must seek out every source of potential cost advantage.

According to Hill (2008), a business that selects a Differentiation Strategy would offer something to its customers that no one else provides. A business can easily increase its customer’s base by providing a unique design that makes the customer more attract to buy its products from its competitors.

Companies that use Innovation Strategy concentrate on particular niche markets and by understanding the needs of customers within it (Stamm, 2003). They also develop a uniquely low cost or well-specified products or services for the market. Because they serve customers in their market uniquely well, they tend to build strong brand loyalty amongst their customers.

Thus, I can conclude that Cost Leadership works best when there are not many ways to achieve product differentiation that have value to the buyers and when buyers are price-sensitive and are prone to shop for the best price. I think it is important to take the time to assess what my customers really want when developing my strategy. I won’t get any profits when giving prices too low just because I want to be a price leader. In addition, I will take into consideration of time and location when implementing Differentiation Strategy. It is because introducing a product at the right time can helps me to create product differentiation. I should be the first mover to introduce my products before all other companies. Plus, if my company is located close to my customers, or in a location that is easy for my customers to get to, it may have a product differentiation advantage compared to the other companies too. Furthermore, I have to get connection with my customers frequently so that I can gain their opinions about my product. If there are any complaints, I have to rethink and solve it to improve my product. Thus, quality is when my customers come back, not the product.

                                                                        
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references :

1.     Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: The Free Press.

2.   Stamm, B. V. (2003). Managing Innovation, Design and Creativity. USA: John Wiley & Son Ltd.

3.  Beamen, K. V. (2002). Boundaryless HR: Human Capital Management In The Global Economy. USA: Rector Duncan & Associates.