Human Resources Formal Organization - A study by Artur Victoria

Partly for moralistic reasons, but at least partly to forestall unionism, management began to modify its approach to administration. Beginning first with manager own observations and later relying heavily on the results of the Hawthorne studies, the first large-scale social science experiments in industry, an emerging theory of administration began to treat employees as whole individuals who could not be broken down into component parts. Thus, programs were developed to satisfy more than an individual physical and security needs, including, in addition, his need to feel important as an individual and to feel a part of his work group and the larger organization.

It is important to note that neither managers nor scholars contributing to the development of this new administrative model tended to modify the widely held view that most organization members are incapable of self-direction and control. Those who advocated increased efforts to keep employees informed, help them see how their jobs fit in, and involve people in decisions about how they are treated did so primarily with the goal of reducing resistance to organizational practices rather than with the intent of utilizing a broader range of capabilities of lower level members. leia todo o artigo

Human Resources Evaluation Systems - A study by Artur Victoria

Performance evaluation systems can be classified along a number of dimensions that capture variations in their structure, content, and process characteristics. Among the most important dimensions are the following: 1. Who/what is evaluated? Do we evaluate the individual, the workgroup, the division? 2. Who performs (and has input into) the evaluation? Is it done by each individual's immediate supervisor? Peers, subordinates, or customers? How much input does the person being evaluated has into the evaluation and in appealing the results? 3. Time frame: short to long. What is the time frame over which data are collected (either formally and objectively or informally) before evaluations are rendered?

4. Objective/formulaic versus subjective/impressionistic evaluations. In some cases, performance is measured very objectively, using unambiguous measures of different aspects of performance. For example, a salesperson might be scored on Euros sales, new customers developed, and increases in orders by old customers, and each of these being put on some standard scale (e.g., standard deviations from the mean performance of salesmen in the organization) and then weighted 40%, 40%, and 20%, respectively. In contrast, employees in a facility might be evaluated and rated based on the subjective overall impressions of their immediate superiors. leia todo o artigo

Human Resources Employment - A study by Artur Victoria

Employment is clearly an economic affair. Except for the occasional professional athlete who claims she would pay to play the game, or the starving artist driven by his muse to create without tangible reward, people work in substantial measure for the economic rewards they earn. Even more so, most employers hire their employees primarily for economic reasons. This is not to say that wages (or other economic benefits) are the be-all-and-end-all of employment from either the employee's or employer's perspective; personal and social fulfillment play important parts. But it would be hard to deny that economic factors play a huge part. The economic view of employment that we will adopt involves a sequence of ideas and observations. We will provide an outline of the basic framework in this section. When this is done-when the "big picture" is all laid out-we will elaborate and analyze the individual steps in the sequence. leia todo o artigo

Human Resources Diplomacy - A study by Artur Victoria

Human resource management is not always or solely the presentation of gifts. Sometimes bad news has to be delivered. We aren't thinking here of bad news as in, "You're fired," in which the relationship is ended. Think instead of "You didn't get the promotion" or "We won't fund that training in your case." It sometimes helps to be able to layoff at least some of the blame in such instances. Doing so can help preserve cordial relations between a superior and subordinate. In addition, hearing bad news from a third person may help the person getting the bad news to save face, a psychological fact of life that has a lot to do with the persistence of management consulting as an industry.

As for objectivity, it is sadly the case that some general managers are less than paragons of objectivity and virtue. Some are susceptible to corruption, some attend to private agendas, some are prejudiced, and some are simply capricious. To place the administration of human resources practices solely in the hands of such a manager is unlikely to produce good outcomes. Moreover, to place the administration of human resources practices solely in the hands of a virtuous paragon can lead to (incorrect) feelings of caprice, corruption, prejudice, and so forth. Not all paragons have had the time and track record needed to develop the untarnished reputation they deserve, and an employee who is denied a promotion or rise by a paragon can be forgiven for sometimes confusing his own unhappy outcome with managerial discretion exercised unfairly. And when an individual manager is given a lot of authority, even if she is incorruptible, the temptation to try to corrupt her might prove too strong for those whose futures she will influence. leia todo o artigo

Human Resources - Writing the Perfect Job Description - A study by Artur Victoria

Most top managers must restructure existing jobs. Few have the luxury of designing totally new organizations. However, whether designing a new organization or restructuring an old one, the basic concepts of job definition apply and have proved effective. The key variable is that the top manager be seriously concerned with organization development in the restructuring process. In restructuring, more attention will necessarily be given to the development of new roles and working relationships of incumbents than would be necessary if a totally new management team were being assembled.

The top manager should be concerned first of all about the jobs of those who report to the first and second levels, and he should require that a job analysis be conducted at each level. Often, organizations are restructured, titles are revised, and appointments are made without an analysis of job objectives and results, especially of the people reporting to the second and third levels of management or supervision. Frequently companies that are reorganized do not produce the expected improvement in results. leia todo o artigo

Human Resources - Choosing a Method of Performance Evaluation - A study by Artur Victoria

Today it is widely recognized that a manager who wants to improve organizational performance must concern himself with the total environment in which employees work. He must be sensitive to the need for change in the physical and social surroundings in which work is performed, as well as to questions of compensation, hours of work, incentives, recognition, and the like. The importance of the physical setting-plant layout, lighting, ventilation, and so forth-on productivity was an early concern of scientific managers. There is very complex and subtle interdependence of (a) Management efforts to introduce change, (b) Workers perceptions of such efforts, and

(c) Organizational efficiency. Unfortunately, the impact of this important insight-as well as a limited understanding of the way space and other aspects of the physical environment affect people-led to inferences that the physical setting hardly mattered. Today space planners and organizational development experts have found in a broader approach to the physical environment natural and fruitful areas for collaboration in their efforts to improve organizational effectiveness. leia todo o artigo

How To Take Advantage In Business Opportunities - A study by Artur Victoria

In business, the majority succeed because knowledge and training have enabled them to take advantage of opportunities. If there is no secret of success in professional or business life, as some eminently successful men have stated, how does it come about that, of two men apparently equally gifted, one succeeds while the other does not. The great truth lies in this: thousands of men never realize their own potentiality. Certain dormant powers that lie within them are never awakened to life. The electric spark that would start the personal engine into life never touches the vital energizing power.

" Genius," said Edison, "is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration." Although some may take leave to doubt the absolute truth of this, like other aphorisms, it contains a great deal of truth. leia todo o artigo