BUS603: Managing People

4a. Explain how viewing people as part of the human capital of the firm adds value to the organization in terms of talent management and competitive advantage 

• How does investing in human capital add value to an organization?
• How can we implement talent acquisition and development to gain a competitive advantage?
• How does succession planning provide a bridge between talent development and talent acquisition?

Investing in human capital can be done in many ways: improving working conditions, improving health conditions, or investing in corporate education and programs, to mention a few. Investing in human capital should bring results such as an increase in productivity, a decrease in absenteeism and turnover, and an increase in worker commitment to the organization.

Investing in our human capital is essential for a successful organization. As you have learned in earlier units in this course, not only are job satisfaction and workplace commitment important, but the workplace is changing rapidly based on the needs of generation X and millennials. Flattening our organizational structure also requires human capital investment to ensure we have employees who are flexible in their thinking, who are quick to learn new skills, and who are interested in building relationships and community in the workplace. But where do we find these employees?

Talent acquisition refers to the area of human resource management responsible for the recruitment and hiring of our human capital. Hiring key leadership people is crucial to adding value and creating a competitive advantage for our organization. The current leaders in the organization and human resources must work together to develop a recruiting plan and process. The first step in the process is to anticipate needs – how many people do you need, and in what positions, in the next few years? The next step is to specify the job – what skills and knowledge are necessary, and what support resources are necessary for this position? The third step is to develop the pool – traditional recruitment models might work, but also ask suppliers, trusted insiders, or even professional service providers to help. The fifth step is to assess the candidates through the interview process. Once a candidate is selected, the next step is to close the deal – sharing your passion for the organization, what your organization does well, and providing a creative salary and benefits package can help. The final step is to integrate your new hire into the organization. Providing a mentor can be very helpful at this point.

Talent development is all the processes and programs an organization uses to assess and develop talent. In terms of talent development, we are not discussing routine safety training programs or training in the latest compliance rules. Talent development is engaged in having a plan to develop key talent within the organization. One of the key tools used in talent development is talent review. A talent review assesses the future potential of your current key employees. Higher-potential employees often display business knowledge, strategic thinking, leadership and people skills, learning agility, and technology skills. A talent review provides an indication of which employees are not yet ready to advance in the organization, which employees are close to ready, and which employees are currently ready to advance. Identifying high-, medium-, and low-potential employees will also help the organization determine any gaps or issues with talent development.

Because you have identified potential among employees in your talent review, you can use this information for succession planning. Succession planning is the process of reviewing key roles and determining the readiness levels of potential internal and external candidates to fill these roles. Succession planning, particularly in key leadership positions, helps to ensure we have the appropriate talent necessary to benefit the organization.

To review, see Investing in Human Capital.

 

4b. Explain the forces (such as technology, business processes, workflow, skills gaps, generational changes, and talent development) that impact enterprise decision-making in managing human resources 

• How are organizations changing?
• What changes in the workplace are affecting organizations the most?
• How can organizations respond to this dramatically changing workplace?

Based on an international survey, 45% of respondents say that employees are working in more diverse teams; 68% say employees are working with virtual technologies; 55% say collaboration and social media tools are more often key to working; and 44% say employees are working primarily using mobile devices. As you can see, the workplace has transformed dramatically from a decade ago, and business agility and continuous learning are key to workforce and organizational success.

The nature of how people work is also changing, requiring that the systems they use in the workplace must also change. Employees are using more self-service to do their work; for example, instead of waiting for data to flow down from top levels of management, employees can access dashboards to gain real-time data. Employees are tracked using real-time performance measures. Finally, employees have more and more flexibility about where and when they work. What human resource processes do you think are changing to accommodate this changing workplace?

You learned in previous units how generational differences, Baby Boomers versus Millennials, can affect everything from work practices to communication styles to motivation. Today's workers are less loyal to their organizations and emphasize well-being in their workplace. Contingency workers, rather than permanent workers, are increasing.

On the other side, employers are concerned about skills gaps and finding workers with the right skills. In particular, organizations have skill gaps in digital skills, soft skills, leadership and management skills, and sales skills. Employers also indicate they need new and better approaches to talent management; you know from the previous subunit that talent acquisition, talent development and management, and succession planning are key drivers for a successful organization. Reasons given for organizations not engaging as much in talent management are lack of investment and a business culture that does not emphasize talent management. One disturbing result is that survey participants indicated they have "other priorities". The inability to look 2-3 years in the future and put into place talent management systems can have a detrimental effect on the competitive advantage of an organization.

According to the survey respondents, the top 5 tools necessary for the future success of talent management are employer brand and values, high-quality data and analytics, next-generation technologies, closer integration between HR and business systems, and strategic influencing skills in HR leadership.

To review, see [4.2 Transforming Talent].

 

4c. Examine ethical principles (fairness, role modeling, role clarification, concern for sustainability, and integrity) as well as how to enforce legal obligations (non-discrimination, safety laws, equal pay, religious tolerance, etc) to manage people and execute corporate social responsibility 

• What is ethical leadership?
• Does equal opportunity mean treating everyone the same?
• Is there a difference between acting morally and acting ethically?

Businesses performing "unethically" are often in the news: Enron, WorldCom, and Wells Fargo, as examples. What's important to understand is the difference between "legal" and "ethical". Some actions taken by organizations may be legal but not ethical to some or all of their stakeholders.

Prejudice and discrimination are still real in this world: racism, sexism, ageism, and homophobia. Prejudice and discrimination are learned processes; we learn prejudiced attitudes and beliefs from society: our parents, teachers, friends, the media, and even social media.

Many laws in the United States exist in an attempt to enforce legal obligations to employees, including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Additionally, organizations cannot discriminate based on national origin, pregnancy status, race/color, or religion.

To review, see Business Ethics, Workplace Environment and Working Conditions, and Ethical Leadership.

 

Unit 4 Vocabulary

This vocabulary list includes terms you will need to know to successfully complete the final exam.

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• succession planning
• talent acquisition
• talent development
• talent review