Программное обеспечение баз данных. Архитектура клиент-сервер

CARE, a not-for-profit organization based in New York City, was founded after World War II to provide a means by which Americans could send packages of food and clothing to Europeans who were victims of the war. The program began on a small scale, with packages of mainly food and clothing sent to specified friends and relatives of donors. Gradually, the organization began to expand its efforts through government grants and private donations. CARE started school-lunch and maternal-health programs and engaged in disaster relief. The organization also undertook forestation programs, agribusiness development, and job training as it adjusted its charter to include the underdeveloped countries of Asia, Latin America, and Africa. In the process, the original name that provided the acronym CARE (Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe) was changed to Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere.

By 1980, though, CARE itself was experiencing serious difficulties. Donations in 1979 had fallen about $5 million short of an anticipated $24 million, causing a crisis that necessitated sudden cuts in a number of programs. At about the same time, an executive director who had been appointed head of CARE in 1978 was found to have embezzled $106,000 of the agency's funds. Employee morale plummeted. CARE's board of directors began to conclude that the agency needed to make some drastic changes. With revenues at $200 million in 1980 and projects in 37 countries, CARE's methods of managing had become outmoded. Careful investigation revealed a myriad of problems, including substandard working facilities, an outdated computer system, poor financial management, and inadequate management of human resources. To remedy the situation, the board of directors promoted Philip Johnston from his position as director of CARE Europe to that of executive director of the agency. Johnston immediately hired five experienced managers to help implement the necessary changes.

After a decade of instilling a business orientation, CARE, with approximately $329 million in annual revenues, is now being managed in a manner similar to that of a profit-making organization. Extensive changes have been made in the management of CARE's fund-raising, financial, and computer activities. For one thing, the slow manual procedures used in processing donor contributions have been replaced by a sophisticated computer system and a bank lockbox facility (donations are now sent to a locked mailbox and are picked up directly by the bank for processing). For another, a new financial management team streamlined the financial system, resulting in vastly improved financial management. For example, instead of relying on a bank line of credit to cover cash needs during the slower donor months, CARE now has an operating reserve, which, through aggressive investment management, provides a new income stream for the organization. In another improvement, new computer systems serving various levels of the organization have helped streamline a number of administrative activities.

CARE also purchased its headquarters building, which it had been renting. Along with providing a modern, businesslike work environment for its employees, CARE is able to rent out the additional newly renovated office space at rates that more than cover the costs of purchasing and maintaining the building.

Changes in the management of CARE-funded programs also were warranted. Programs had become larger and more complex but often were not coordinated or evaluated properly. For example, a water system was funded in the Sudan without provisions for its future maintenance. Similarly, a food aid program for mothers and children in Guatemala, Haiti, and the Philippines failed to monitor weight gains. In response to these problems, CARE began planning projects in conjunction with one another, set up mechanisms for receiving improved feedback on how projects were progressing, and developed methods for providing better technical help to go along with funding.

Problems related to human resource management were particularly acute in 1980. Little human resource planning was done. Job descriptions were poorly written, if they existed at all. Many employees did not have appropriate skills for performing their job duties effectively. There were virtually no standards for performance; performance appraisals were rarely conducted; and few formalized training programs were available to help employees improve their job-related skills. The compensation system dispensed inconsistent and inequitable rewards.

As a result, a new team was brought in to revamp human resource management at CARE, and human resource planning is now part of the ongoing planning process. Current job descriptions exist for every job. A new human resource information system allows ready access to various types of information about employees, including an inventor}' of their skills. A formal orientation program introduces new employees to the organization, and new training programs help employees develop technical and other skills that they need to operate effectively. A new compensation system allocates pay on a more equitable basis, and a new salary structure has helped recruit excellent professional and managerial talent. For example, CARE increased management salaries by 35 to 75 percent in order to attract more experienced people. The salaries still are not generous, but they are more competitive with small companies and other not-for-profit organizations than they were before. As a result of performance standards that are part of a new performance evaluation system based on management by objectives, annual pay raises are awarded on a merit basis. The standards also have induced a portion of the previous management staff to resign over a period of time rather than meet the new expectations for performance.

Although many changes have been made at CARE, the positive results can be attributed in very large degree to the improved management of human resources. In fact, CARE was singled out by Fortune magazine in 1987 as one of America's best-run charities - very different, indeed, from the manner in which the organization operated a decade earlier.

While there were multiple causes for the problems that beset CARE by 1980, many of the difficulties can be traced to shortcomings in appropriately acquiring, developing, and utilizing human resources. In the previous two chapters considered the organizing function as it relates to various means of structuring organizations so that planned goals can be achieved efficiently and effectively In this chapter, we continue our discussion of the organizing function by examining how organizations, like CARE, can acquire and develop the human re-f sources needed to put the structural elements into effective action. Without organization members who can perform the necessary tasks, organizations ha1 little hope of achieving their goals.

Human resource management (HRM) is the management of various activities designed to enhance the effectiveness of an organization's work force achieving organizational goals. In exploring various facets of human resource management, we first look at the human resource management process and consider the strategic importance of such management. We next investigate human resource planning and various aspects of staffing the organization appropriate human resources. We also examine means of developing organization members and evaluating their performance. We then consider major issues relating to adequately compensating organization members, including mean encouraging innovation, particularly through appropriate reward systems for intrapreneurs. Finally, we examine important issues related to maintaining effective work-force relationships.

STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

At 3M, a company famous for fostering employee innovation, human resource issues are increasingly an integral part of strategic management. Thus 3M is at the forefront of a trend toward recognizing human resources as a crucial element in the strategic success of organizations. In a growing number of organizations, such as 3M and CARE, high-level managers within the human resource management function participate directly in strategy formulation. They also help coordinate human resource aspects of strategy implementation. In this section, we review major aspects of the human resource management process before exploring in greater depth the main reasons for the growing strategic role of human resource management.

The HRM Process: An Overview

As suggested by the HRM process shown in Figure 12-1, human resource management encompasses a number of important activities. One critical aspect of the process, human resource planning, assesses the human resource needs associated with strategic management and helps identify staffing needs. The staffing component of the process includes attracting and selecting individuals for appropriate positions. Once individuals become part of the organization, their ability to contribute effectively is usually enhanced by various development and evaluation efforts, such as training and periodic performance evaluations. Compensating employees for their efforts is another important factor in the HRM process, because adequate rewards are critical not only to attracting but also to motivating and retaining valuable employees. Finally, managers must respond to various issues that influence work-force perceptions of the organization and its treatment of employees.

In order to explore human resource management in an orderly fashion, the various activities that make up the HRM process are discussed sequentially in this chapter. The components, though, are actually highly interrelated. For example, when a group of British financiers took over the British arm of F. W. Woolworth from its American parent in 1982, the chain of 1000 stores had a tarnished image and 30,000 employees with a reputation for poor service. Investigation revealed many interrelated problems, such as poor employment interviewing practices (interviews typically lasted 10 minutes), little training for either sales staff or managers, and a compensation system that did not reward good performance. Thus various components of the HRM process collectively reinforced the service problems.

Human resource professionals operating within human resource departments typically play a major role in designing the various elements in the HRM process and in supporting their use by line managers. Nevertheless, line managers ultimately are responsible for the effective utilization of human resources within their units and, thus, carry out many aspects of the HRM process, particularly as they relate to implementing strategic plans.

The Strategic Importance of HRM

Understanding the strategic potential of human resource management in organizations is a relatively recent phenomenon. In fact, the role of such management in organizations, as it is known today, has evolved through three main stages. From early in this century until the mid-1960s, HRM activities comprised a file maintenance stage, in which much of the emphasis was on screening applicants, orienting new employees, recording employee-related data for personnel purposes, and planning company social functions (such as the company picnic).

The second stage, government accountability, began with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which forbids employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin) and continued as additional laws, court rulings, and federal regulatory guidelines increasingly impacted various aspects of employment, such as hiring and promotion decisions, pension plans, and health and safety issues. (We mention several of these laws throughout this chapter.) Of course, some laws, particularly those governing relations with unions, existed before 1964; but the mid-1960s ushered in an era of accelerated governmental regulation of employment issues. As organizations attempted to gain greater control over activities that could result in legal difficulties and large financial settlements, the HRM function gained in importance. Indicative of the expense that can be involved, under a 1973 consent decree (a court-sanctioned agreement in which the accused party does not admit wrongdoing but agrees to discontinue a practice), AT&T agreed to raise the starting pay of women promoted to managerial positions so that their pay levels would be equal to those of similarly promoted men, at a cost of more than $30 million.

The third stage, which began in the late 1970s and early 1980s, can be termed the competitive advantage stage. In this stage, human resource management is increasingly viewed as important for both strategy formulation and implementation. Thus, under some circumstances, human resources can comprise a source of distinct competence that forms a basis for strategy formulation. For example, 3M's noted scientists enable the company to pursue a differentiation strategy based on innovative products. Under other circumstances, HRM activities may be used to support strategy implementation. For instance, at Honda of America's Marysville, Ohio, plant, an emphasis on differentiation through quality is supported by such HRM activities as training programs, developmental performance appraisal processes, and promises of job security. Human resource management often is an important ingredient in the success of such strategy-related activities as downsizing, mergers, and acquisitions. At the competitive advantage stage, then, human resources are considered explicitly in conjunction with strategic management, particularly through the mechanism of human resource planning.

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

Human resource planning is the process of determining future human resource needs relative to an organization's strategic plan and devising steps necessary to meet those needs.In planning human resource needs, human resource professionals and line managers consider both demand and supply issues, as well as potential steps for addressing any imbalances. Such planning often relies on job analysis as a means of understanding the nature of jobs under consideration.

Job Analysis

Sob analysis is the systematic collection and recording of information concerning tie purpose of a job, its major duties, the conditions under which it is performed, the contacts with others that performance of the job requires, and the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for performing the job effectively. Job analysis information can be collected in a variety of ways, including observing individuals doing their jobs, conducting interviews with individuals and their superiors, having individuals keep diaries of job-related activities, and/or distributing questionnaires to be completed by job incumbents and their supervisors.

The results of job analysis often are used to develop job descriptions. A job description is a statement of the duties, working conditions, and other significant requirements associated with a particular job. Job descriptions frequently are combined with job specifications (see Table 12-1). A job specification is a Statement of the skills, abilities, education, and previous work experience that are required to perform a particular job. Formats for job descriptions and job

Table 12-1 Sample Job Description and Job Specification New Jersey

Data Control Clerk (1127)

Under immediate supervision receives and reviews input and output data for recurring computer reports and records. Receives detailed instructions on assignments which are not routine. Work is checked through standard controls.

DUTIES

Job Description

Operates data processing equipment such as Sorters (IBM 083), Bursters (Std 'Register and Moore), decollators (Std Register), Communications Terminal (IBM 3775), and interactive operation of IBM 327X family of terminals to process accounting, personnel, and other statistical reports.

Feeds and tends machine according to standard instructions

Makes minor operating adjustments to equipment.

Submits data with necessary documentation for computer processing.

Reviews output data and corrects problems causing incorrect output.

Revises and maintains lists, control records, and source data necessary to produce reports.

Distributes output reports by predetermined instructions.

Operates magnetic-tape cleaning and testing equipment.

Corrects and/or adjusts files via use of time-sharing terminals.

QUALIFICATIONS

Job Specification

Six months' experience in operating data-processing equipment, Ability to reconcile differences and errors in computer data.

Demand for Human Resources

A main aspect of human resource planning is assessing the demand for human resources. Such an assessment involves considering the major forces that affect the demand and using basic forecasting aids to predict it.

Major Forces. One major force affecting the demand for human resources is an organization's environment, including factors in both the general environment, or mega-environment, and the task environment. For example, an aspect of the general environment, such as the economy, can alter demand for a product or service and, thus, affect the need for certain types of employees. In Chapter 3, we discuss in greater depth the various environmental forces that influence organizations.

In addition to environmental factors, changing organizational requirements, such as alterations in the strategic plan, also can influence the demand for human resources. Similarly, internal work-force changes, such as retirements, resignations, terminations, deaths, and leaves of absence, frequently cause major shifts in the need for human resources.

Forecasting Demand. Several basic techniques are used to forecast human resource demand in organizations. Judgmental forecasting is mainly based on the views of individuals thought to be knowledgeable, particularly line managers, who often are in a good position to make expert estimates about future needs for various types of workers. For example, at Flour-Daniel, one of the largest construction companies in the United States, organization, members with relevant technical skills often help estimate the human resource needs for potential construction projects. Quantitative forecasting, which relies on numerical data and mathematical models, is another approach that is frequently used to forecast human resource needs. Finally, technological, or qualitative, forecasting, which is aimed mainly at predicting long-term trends in technology and other important aspects of the environment (see, e.g., the Delphi method described in Chapter 9), can also help predict future demand.

In one recent study, almost 60 percent of the responding major business organizations reported that they attempt to forecast human resource demand. Of those, more than one-half develop both short-term (covering about 1 year) and long-term (covering about 5 years) forecasts.

Supply of Human Resources

Demand is only one side of the equation governing whether an organization' have sufficient human resources to operate effectively. In assessing the other side, supply, human resource professionals and managers consider both internal and external labor supplies.

Internal Labor Supply. One prime supply source is the pool of current employees who can be transferred or promoted to help meet demands for human resources. Major means of assessing the internal labor supply include skills inventories, replacement planning, and succession planning.

A skills inventory is a data bank (usually computerized) containing basic information about each employee that can be used to assess the likely availability of individuals for meeting current and future human resource needs. A skills inventory typically contains information regarding each employee's performance, knowledge, skills, experience, interests, and relevant personal characteristics.

Replacement planning is a means of identifying potential candidates to fill specific managerial positions through the use of replacement charts. A replacement chart is a partial organization chart showing the major managerial positions in an organization, current incumbents, potential replacements for each position (usually including current performance rating and an assessment of each individual's preparedness to assume the particular position), and the age of each person on the chart (see Figure 12-2). With replacement charts, age is used to track possible retirements, but it is not considered in determining promotions. On the contrary, managers must be careful not to discriminate against older workers in making such choices. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended in 1978 and 1986, prohibits discrimination against employees and job applicants who are more than 40 years old. The law covers promotion, as well as hiring and termination decisions. Under one provision of the law, with few exceptions, organizations cannot force employees to retire because of age. Exceptions include law enforcement officers and firefighters.

While replacement planning focuses on specific candidates who could fill designated managerial positions, succession planning is a means of identifying individuals with high potential and ensuring that they receive appropriate train-!rig and job assignments aimed at their long-run growth and development. The purpose of succession planning is to ensure that the organization has a well-qualified pool of individuals from which to draw middle and top managers in the future.

External Labor Supply. Some reliance on the external labor supply usually is necessary because of organizational expansion and/or employee attrition. Periodic estimates of labor supplies in a variety of categories are made by a number of government agencies, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.J Department of Labor, the Engineering Manpower Commission, and the Public Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services. Industry and human resource associations also often can provide helpful information to supplement the knowledge of line managers in specialized areas. In addition human resource professionals, particularly those heavily engaged in recruitment and selection, often are knowledgeable about supply trends in given areas.

Reconciling Demand and Supply

After estimates are made of the demand and potential supplies of human resources, steps are often necessary to balance the two. If estimates show that the internal supply of employees exceeds the number necessary, then plan must be made to reduce the number of employees. Often, small reductions can be made through employee resignations and retirements. When more major reductions are needed, organizations sometimes offer early retirement to certain categories of employees with a significant number of years of service. In other cases, layoffs may be necessary. On the other hand, if an increase in the number of employees is necessary, then plans must be made for promotions and transfers of current employees, when desirable, as well as for hiring new employees.

Affirmative Action Issues.One important aspect of reconciling supply demand is considering the implications for affirmative action, any special activity undertaken by employers to increase equal employment opportunities groups protected by federal equal employment opportunity laws and related regulations. As mentioned earlier, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972) forbids employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Groups covered by Title VII and related laws and regulations are often referred to as "protected groups."

Affirmative action is important because organizations often have patterns of employment in which protected groups are underrepresented in certain areas such as management, relative to the number of group members who have appropriate credentials in the marketplace. As a result, an organization may an affirmative action plan, a written, systematic plan that specifies goals; timetables for hiring, training, promoting, and retaining groups protected by federal equal employment laws and related regulations. Such plans are required by federal regulations for organizations with federal contracts than $50,000 and with 50 or more employees. The plans, which must be with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (Department of Labor), must include provisions for hiring the disabled (as stipulated by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973). Courts sometimes require that organizations formulate affirmative action plans because of evidence of past discriminatory practices. Many organizations, though, establish affirmative action programs on a voluntary basis.

While courts generally have held that employers may establish such voluntary programs, the programs must balance efforts to assist women and minorities against the rights of others who may be competing for the same jobs. For example, courts generally have been unwilling to approve plans that cause individuals to lose their jobs in order to make room for protected groups, but they have allowed more limited burdens, such as postponements of promotions.

Affirmative action programs continue to be challenged in the courts by individuals and groups who do not fit into the protected category and who charge reverse discrimination.

Population Trends. Demographic shifts also are causing organizations to place emphasis on hiring women and minorities. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections indicate that annual work-force growth, which was about 2 percent from 1976 to 1988, has slowed to only 1.2 percent since 1988 and will continue at the lower rate at least until the year 2000. Part of the reason is that most of the baby-boomers wishing to work have already been absorbed into the work force, and there is no similar bulge of workers behind them. One implication, according to the bureau's figures, is that, out of necessity, women will constitute about 47 percent of the work force and minorities and immigrants about 26 percent by the year 2000. In preparation, a number of companies are placing new emphasis On "managing diversity." For example, at a Digital Equipment Corporation factory in Boston that makes computer keyboards, the 350 employees represent 44 countries. Because of the 19 different languages spoken, written plant announcements are printed in English, Chinese, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, and Haitian Creole. Some organizations are filling vacancies with part-time workers, many of whom are senior citizens who have retired from ill-time jobs. For example, the Travelers Corporation, an insurance company based in Hartford, Connecticut, runs a job bank for area retirees in order to have workers available for part-time and temporary clerical and administrative jobs. Diversity issues and other considerations that grow out of human resource plan-then become the basis for staffing efforts.

Simulation Overview