recap

Required Resources

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Review Chapters 1 through 10 in  Strategic human resource management: Concepts, controversies, and evidence-based applications .

(Miniature people teamwork overcoming obstacles business concept)

So far, various topics have been covered in this course beginning with an overview and consideration of legal and ethical issues, moving into employee recruitment and selection, considering aspects of training and development, and examining compensation, incentives and benefits.  Each week’s content has built upon the work of the week before.  This week is a shift in gears, a time for reflection, examination of each of the previous weeks’ ideas and consideration of cumulative learning—knowledge that has been gained in the course thus far.

Assignments (People cogs)

Review for Exam As you review Chapters 1 through 10 in: Strategic Human Resource Management: Concepts, Controversies, and Evidence-based Applications, you may want to complete the practice questions at the beginning of each chapter to test your learning prior to taking the two-hour timed course exam that is assigned for this week.  In addition, think about how all of the components of HRM are interconnected.  Continuing with the technology metaphor, a well-functioning HRM department is akin to a well-oiled machine in that it runs smoothly and ensures that the right people are recruited, hired, trained, developed, retained, and evaluated so their performance is in alignment with the mission, goals, objectives, and vision of the organization.

Key West Fire Juggler (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

By now it is abundantly clear that HRM people are constantly juggling multiple tasks to ensure there is organizational alignment, as well as person-job fit and person-organization fit in all sorts of organizations.  In order for an organization to go from Good to Great, it is critical to get the right people in an organization, retain and develop them, keep them satisfied in meaningful work.  In the words of the classic-contemporary author, Jim Collins (2001), “The old adage, ‘People are your most important asset’ turns out to be wrong.  People are not your most important asset.  The right people are” (p. 13).

This week’s discussion forum focuses on current HR challenges and their integration into the functional areas of HRM.  For example (and please do not use this example), Kultalahti, Edinger, and Brandt (2012) conducted a study of Generation Y employees in Finland to learn if and how organizational leadership and job satisfaction were related for this group.  Specifically, what these researchers studied was how satisfaction with supervisors and satisfaction with their jobs were related to employee well-being.  What they found was quite interesting!  You can look for yourself (see references).  The article can be found in the Ashford University Library.  Notably, Kultalahti, Edinger, and Brandt (2012) began to better realize how inter-related job satisfaction, benefits and compensation (especially sick leave), and job performance were all related, as well as training and development for both the Gen Yers and their supervisors.

In Discussion Forum 1, you can have fun analyzing a similar research article.  When you look through the Ashford University Library databases, be sure to look for academic sources, full text (so you can see the whole article), and peer-reviewed research.  This way you can get as much information for your initial post as possible.  In Discussion Forum 2, you are asked to evaluate your learning from this course so far.  Take some time to really consider what you have gotten from the course so far.  Use the forum as an opportunity to engage in dialogue, conversation that is intelligently focused on making your learning experience and the course in general better.

Finally, a Word to the Wise…

This week, in addition to looking back, you may also want to look ahead to the final assignment in week 6.  As you review the chapters and what you have written in previous assignments, and while you are studying for the exam, consider that the final assignment for this course is to consider yourself an HR department of one.  This assignment will give you an opportunity to revise some of the work you have done in Weeks 1 through 5 as draft material that can be refined, edited (or scrapped), and rewritten to become your best work in the course yet.

Notably, the goal of HRM in any organization is to bring out the best in others.  This cannot be done without HRM being willing to bring out the best in themselves and each other.  This is one of the best benefits (intrinsic, as Herzberg might say) of being in the HRM professions.

Have a wonderful week!

Forbes School of Business Faculty

References:

123RF Limited. (2014). Miniature people teamwork overcoming obstacles business concept [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.123rf.com/photo_20035615_miniature-people-teamwork-overcoming-obstacles-business-concept.html

123RF Limited. (2014). People cogs [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.123rf.com/photo_12246808_people-cogs.html

Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap and others don’t. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Kultalahti, S., Edinger, P., & Brandt, T. (2012). Generation Y’s glance at the connection between leadership and job satisfaction.  Conference Proceedings Global Science and Technology Forum. Singapore.

Schipul, E. (2006). Key west fire juggler [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/eschipul/4780424803/