MBA 423 Human Resources Management (Elective Course)
The effective management of people has an important bearing on organisational success. The importance of personnel policies and procedures has created opportunity for managers and administrators with expertise in this field. The course provides conceptual and practical skills in areas such as the strategic aspects of human resource management, manpower planning, recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, training and development, salary administration and employee benefits. Industrial relations in the context of the South Pacific region is an important theme.
http://www.usp.ac.fj/index.php?id=mba423
Major Research Project (MRP) - 15%
Students will work in their allocated groups for the major research project (MRP) – which are indicated in the Course Outline. Each group will be required to base their project on arelevant and interesting HRM topic or current issue or company in which the group members have an interest.
A 30 minute group presentation (inclusive of answer and question session) will be made during weeks 10 and 11 of the trimester, as per the brief class timetable on page 7. The group’s power-point presentations, both soft and hard copies, must be submitted to the course facilitator on or before the presentation. A written report (around 20 pages) is required for the MRP - the due date for the report will be agreed to later in class. The class and the facilitator will evaluate each group’s presentation. The class and the facilitator will evaluate each group’s presentation. A blank evaluation form will be made available in class and posted in Moodle. However, the facilitator has the final say in terms of the final marks to be allocated to each group. The criterias to be used as a guide for evaluating the MRP presentations is provided in the blank evaluation form.
Students:
Stuart Gow
Amrish Narayan
Chaminda Wanninayake
Graduate School of Business
Faculty of Business and Economics
University of the South Pacific,
Private Bag, Laucala Campus,
Suva, Fiji.
Tel: (679) 323 1391/323 1392
Fax: (679) 323 1397
10. Better Suited to Global
Diverse Workforces
better understand:
Legal
Political
Social
Economic
Cultural environments
More importantly:
They gain
competitive
advantage from
this
understanding!
11. Can You Risk it?
“If you embrace diversity, you
risk workplace conflict, but if
you avoid diversity, you risk
loss of competitiveness”
12.
13. More Effective Execution
Lead and inspire all Human
Capital
Leads to most efficient
level and profitability.
Fully execute Organizations
Strategy
Produces increased
productivity
Leading to higher profit
14. Variety Of Viewpoints
Larger pool of
experiences and ideas
Meet ‘big picture’
business strategy
needs
Diversity of
perspective
Drives creativity
Opens minds to new
possibilities & ideas
15. Global Market
More & better
targeted services
When HC has:
large collection of
skills and
experiences
cultural and religious
understanding
languages
17. Communication
Critical to cross barriers
to gain benefits:
Cultural barriers
Perceptual barriers
Language barriers
Lack of communication:
Confusion
Lack of teamwork
Low morale
18. Case Study:
EU in Solomon Islands
Freda Wickham
12 year in EU office
Different languages:
Spanish, Italian, Irish,
English, Belgian,
French, German, Pidgin
Challenge both spoken
and written
19. Resistance To Change
4 types of
Organisation:
Negative
Minimalist
Compliant
Comprehensive
& proactive
20. Implementation Into Workplace Policies
Getting into Policies a
challenge
Maximise the effects of
diversity in the
workplace
After a assessment
After research
MOVE SLOWLY!
Build custom strategy
21. FNU Values On Diversity
“Diversity And
Inclusiveness: The
University Practices
Diversity And
Inclusiveness In Its
Campus Learning And
Living And Fosters A
Community And
Collegiate Spirit Among
Staff And Students.”
Policies:
Equal Employment Policy
Recruitment Policy
Discrimination And
Harassment Policy
Workplace Bullying Policy
Drugs, Alcohol And Kava
Policy
Whistleblower Protection
Policy
23. Fiji Legislation
Employment Relations Promulgation 2007 (ERP)
Part 9 — Equal
Employment
Opportunities
Move to Good Faith
Employers to remove all
instances and mentions
Great opportunity now!
“ethnic origin, colour, place
of origin, gender, sexual
orientation, birth, primary
language, economic status,
age, disability, HIV/AIDS
status, social class, marital
status (including living in
a relationship in the
nature of a marriage),
employment status, family
status, opinion, religion or
belief.”
24. Fiji National University EEO Policy
“The ultimate outcome of our policy
(EEO) shall be changes in attitudes to
an organisational culture which values
a diverse workforce. This will include an
appreciation and understanding of
different blends of values, cultures,
ethnicity and genders.”
25. Solomon Islands Legislation
Currently no laws for EEO
committed to
promoting gender
equality
Constitution officially
guarantees women
equal rights
Laws remain...
Still male-dominated
culture
26. Solomon Islands Gender Distribution (PS)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Management Technicians Skilled Services
Female Male
27.
28. Diversity management
“A process of management,
particularly HRM, underpinned by a
set of values which recognise
differences between people as
strengths for management.”
29. A Plan is Needed…
Training not only
answer
Policies not only answer
Specific strategy
Create an :
Organisational
Culture of Diversity
31. 1. Initial Assessment
supports people
willingness to consider
diversity
HRM Policies central
Simple employee
satisfaction survey
•Initial assessment of diversity in the workplace
32. 2. Development of a Plan
Comprehensive
information
Start with survey results
Should be SMART:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time limited
33. 3. Implementing the Plan
Personal commitment of
all executive &
managerial teams
Incorporate diversity
policies into every
department
Many resources
34. 4. HRM Leads & Tracks the Change
HRM lead agency
Lead the change
Once established:
tracked
measured
35. 5. Advocate to Board & to Employees
Policy not in isolation
Needs top-level
support
Needs Operational
Management
support
Needs full workforce
support
39. Recommendations
5 Steps
1. Initial assessment of
diversity in the
workplace
2. Develop a Specific
Diversity in the
Workplace Plan
3. Implement the Plan
4. Lead the change as HRM
5. Advocate Diversity to
Board & Employees
40.
41. References
Course/ Student Study Guide, MBA 423 HRM, Prof.
Dr. K C. Patrick Low , (PhD (UniSA) & Chartered
Marketer)
Managing Human Resources; 4th edition; Raymond
J. Stone (2013); John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd;
Sydney
Fiji National University OHS Policy, 2013
FNU OH&S Modules I and II, LINK
YouTube videos
We are Group 5
Our Team tonight is:
Amrish
Stuart
Chaminda
Freda
We’ll quickly run through the Case Study and the important points then address the discussion questions individually
A diverse workplace will include people from different ethnicities, races , age groups and sexes who will have dissimilar cultural beliefs and values.
Diversity will increase significantly in the future.
The most successful organisations will recognise the need for immediate proactive action and will be ready and willing to spend resources on managing diversity in the workplace now.
legal, political, social, economic, and cultural environments and gain competitive advantage from this understanding
Successfully managing diversity leads to a more satisfied, more committed, better performing workforce and a high potential for better financial performance for the organisation
It is without doubt agreed that diversity is a recognised source of creativity, innovation in, and organisation that provides a strong base for competitive advantage
More Effective Execution
Organisations that embrace diversity in their workplace lead and inspire all of their Human Capital to perform at their most efficient level and profitability.
The organisation’s strategies can then be fully executed; this produces higher profit from increased productivity.
Variety Of Viewpoints
Diverse HC who feel comfortable communicating different points of view provide a much larger pool of experiences and ideas.
The organisation can use that larger pool to meet ‘big picture’ business strategy needs and the needs of customers more effectively.
Diversity of perspective is one of the major hallmarks of a strong organisation.
Curious, respectful dissent and active discussion drives creativity and open minds to new possibilities and ideas.
Concerned dissent is not chaos – it can rock the boat without sinking the ship. It is important that an organisations public voice be united of course, but the organisations internal dialogue must include a huge variety of ideas and viewpoints.
Global Market
An organisation can provide more and better targeted services to customers in the global marketplace when its Human Capital has a large collection of skills and experiences such as cultural and religious understanding or languages, to draw upon.
Communication
For diversity programs to be successful in the long term and to provide the benefits, then the cultural, perceptual and language barriers need to be overcome as first step.
Ineffective communication of the organisation’s key objectives will result in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale amongst the employees and teams
European Union Delegation In Solomon Islands
There are always employees and indeed managers who will refuse to change or accept that the cultural and social environment of the workplace is changing.
All organisations should strive for the “comprehensive and proactive”, and work up from a negative start step by step.
Many start as the “negative” and this includes a large amount of resistance to the change required.
The Pacific Island Countries are not different, as developing nations normally start very much on the back foot, and have massive resistance to this. They figure that they have ‘other problems’ to solve before addressing diversity, without realising that diversity can be the solution to many of their perceived problems.
Implementation Into Workplace Policies
Actually getting the concept of diversity into the organisation’s policies can be one of the biggest challenge to all diversity advocates in HRM. After reviewing the results of employee assessments and organisation research data, HRM must slowly build and implement a customised diversity strategy to maximise the effects of diversity in the workplace for the organisation
Fnu Values On Diversity:
“Diversity And Inclusiveness: The University Practices Diversity And Inclusiveness In Its Campus Learning And Living And Fosters A Community And Collegiate Spirit Among Staff And Students.”
Excerpt From Fnu Annual Report 2012
FNU Strategic Plan
To Support The Diversity And Inclusiveness Values Of The University, There Are Strategic Objectives Aligned To This In The Universities Strategic Plan. These Are Further Supported By The Following Policies Of The University:
Reference: FNU HR Policy
Resistance To Change
Legal Aspects Of Workplace Diversity
Part 9 — Equal Employment Opportunities (Eeo)
The prohibited grounds of discrimination
75. For the purposes of this Part, the prohibited grounds for discrimination whether direct or indirect are actual or supposed personal characteristics or circumstances, including: ethnic origin, colour, place of origin, gender, sexual orientation, birth, primary language, economic status, age, disability, HIV/AIDS status, social class, marital status (including living in a relationship in the nature of a marriage), employment status, family status, opinion, religion or belief.
Solomon Islands Legislation
Fiji national university EEO policy
“The ultimate outcome of our policy (EEO) shall be changes in attitudes to an organisational culture which values a diverse workforce. This will include an appreciation and understanding of different blends of values, cultures, ethnicity and genders.”
(Fiji national university (fnu, 2013)
Solomon Islands Legislation
There are no specific laws in the Solomon Islands on equal opportunity for women and men, on equal pay, or that address sexual discrimination or sexual. (Hedditch & Manuel, 2010)
Solomon Islands National Policy On Gender Equality And Women’s Development. (Govt of Solomon Islands, 2010)
Although the Solomon Islands Government states that it is committed to promoting gender equality in its development policy frameworks, the country still performs very poorly on gender equality – ranking only 129 out of 177 countries on the Gender and Development Index (GDI) (Wallace, 2000).
Solomon Islands women operate their businesses in a male-dominated culture. They have minimal representation in decision making (with no female members of Parliament for example).
Gender Distribution In The Public Service, Solomon Islands Government
Notes:
Date of Data: 1999 (has not been updated since)
30% of women form the Public Service, of which 60% of them are in Junior positions.
Overall women hold only 6% of Senior Public Service positions
5 women are in Permanent Secretary positions, that is out of 25 positions (20% )
3 women are in Under Secretary positions, that is out of 20 positions (15%)
Currently only 1 woman is represented in Parliament , out of 50 seats.
Solomon Islands National Policy On Gender Equality And Women’s Development. (Govt of Solomon Islands, 2010)
Diversity management:
“A process of management, particularly HRM, underpinned by a set of values which recognise differences between people as strengths for management.”
Like mopst implementation plans this should look familiar
Initial assessment of diversity in the workplace
Assessing diversity management:
supports people in the workplace building a shared future together (for an all inclusive workplace).
requires a willingness to consider diversity not as an abstract theory or dictated rule, but as a good way of life.
places HRM policies and practices at the centre of a organisation’s diverse workforce. Diversity management is about developing new and better organisations that value difference.
Development of a Plan
Implementing the Diversity in the Workplace Plan
The total personal commitment of all executive and managerial teams in all departments is a complete necessity.
All managers within the organisation must incorporate diversity policies into every department of the organisation. All attitudes toward diversity will start at the top and filter down through the ranks.
Management participation and cooperation is required at every stage to create an organisational culture conducive to the success of the organisation’s Diversity in the Workplace Plan.
Many resources are available to HRM to assist ion implementing diversity in the workplace from consultants, to workbooks, through to simply looking online for solutions to tailor to their needs.
ILO (International Labour Organization (ILO), 2013) is a good reference source, and has many training programs freely available such as the The Training Package on Work and Family.
Lead and track the Change as HRM
HRM is the lead agency within any organisation to lead the change in Diversity in the Workplace. They have the best opportunities for changing Human Capital to achieve the goals and aims.
Once established, a diversity plan and program should be tracked and measured, so it is clear where programs are making progress and where they are falling short. Even though financial and headcount resources have been reduced as a result of economic constraints, because Diversity goals are aligned with the overall business goals, Diversity initiatives have a greater impact than before and are seen as a company priority.
Advocate Diversity both to Board and to Employees
Complete an initial assessment of diversity in the workplace (Appendix 1)
Develop a Specific Diversity in the Workplace Plan
Implement the Diversity in the Workplace Plan
Lead the change as HRM
Advocate Diversity both to Board and to Employees
We are Group 5
Our Team tonight is:
Amrish
Stuart
Chaminda
Freda