WEEK
1 ASSIGNMENT 1
HRMD610You have completed Part A.
PART
A: Discussion
should be started NLT Day 4.
Before you read anything in
the textbook or in the class, think about a time
when you have had contact with a human resource department.
Think about what this
department did for the organization and its employees.
What are your impressions of
this department.For example, was it off-site, perhaps at a corporate
location; isolated, handling paperwork or visibly present in the company,
mingling with employees? In other words,
what did this HR department do in or for the organization?
Share your thoughts about the
role and activities of this human resource department in the Week 1 “What
is HR” Discussion area.
Respond to at least two others’
posts on two separate days. Be sure to
read any responses to or questions about your post.
,
Now, move to Part B.
PART
B: Read/view
these resources to complete the assignment:
Read the reading assignments
for Week 1 in the textbook(s) and Course Content.
Read articles in Reserved
Readings, New Competencies for HRand Working in the Future
View these five (5) videos:
HR ROLE
MODELS VIDEO (in five parts)
Time
(min:sec)
.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRRoleModelsIntro.aspx”>http://www.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRRoleModelsIntro.aspx
Intro:
2:18
.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRRoleModels.aspx”>http://www.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRRoleModels.aspx
HR Role
Models: 10:29
.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRinSync.aspx”>http://www.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRinSync.aspx
HR in
Sync: 16:43
.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRinHighTechLargeCo.aspx”>http://www.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRinHighTechLargeCo.aspx
HR in
Hi-Tech Large Co: 16:09
.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/HRinHighTechSmallCo.aspx”>http://www.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/HRinHighTechSmallCo.aspx
HR in
Hi-Tech Small Co: 18:59
Total Time:
1 hour
4 minutes
(64
minutes)
Then, complete
PART
C: To complete the assignment:
Revisit your thoughts posted in
Part A, above.
Compare these to what you
learned in the items in Part B.
Address the differences and
similarities between them. What
surprised you?
Complete in an MS Word
document, format in APA style, please, including, but not limited to:
Double-spacing, indentation,
running head with your name and the assignment number, plus page numbers, etc.
Maximum 3-4 pages
Add a reference page, which
would include the resources provided, the textbooks used, the video, and the HR
Competency article.
Submit to Week 1 Assignment
area.
DUE: Day 7, Week
1*******************************************************************
.shrm.org/hrmagazine/07June”>.jpg” alt=”HR magazine, june 2007″>
.shrm.org/hrmagazine/07June”>June
2007
Vol. 52, No. 6
New Competencies for HR
Researchers
have updated the portfolio of competencies for high-performing HR
professionals.
By .shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0607/0607grossman.asp#ek”>Robert J. Grossman
What does it take to make it big in HR? What skills and
expertise do you need?
Since 1988, Dave Ulrich, professor of business
administration at the University
of Michigan, and his
associates have been on a quest to provide the answers. This year, theyve
released an all-new 2007 Human Resource Competency Study (HRCS). The findings
and interpretations lay out professional guidance for HR for at least the
next few years.
People want to know what set of skills high-achieving HR
people need to perform even better, says Ulrich, co-director of the project
along with Wayne Brockbank, also a professor of business at the University of Michigan.
Conducted under the auspices of the Ross School of Business
at the University of Michigan and The RBL Group in Salt Lake City, with
regional partners including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
in North America and other institutions in Latin America, Europe, China and
Australia, HRCS is the longest-running, most extensive global HR competency
study in existence. In reaching our conclusions, weve looked across more
than 400 companies and are able to report with statistical accuracy what HR
executives say and do, Ulrich says.
The research continues to demonstrate the dynamic nature
of the human resource management profession, says SHRM President and CEO
Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR. The findings also highlight what an exciting time
it is to be in the profession. We continue to have the ability to really add
value to an organization.
HRCS is foundational work that is really important to HR
as a profession, says Cynthia McCague, senior vice president of the
Coca-Cola Co., who participated in the study. They have created and continue
to enhance a framework for thinking about how HR drives organizational
performance.
Whats New
Researchers identified six core competencies that
high-performing HR professionals embody. These supersede the five
competencies outlined in the 2002 HRCSthe last study publishedreflecting
the continuing evolution of the HR profession. Each competency is broken out
into performance elements.
This is the fifth round, so we can look at past models and
compare where the profession is going, says Evren Esen, survey program
manager at SHRM, which provided the sample of HR professionals surveyed in North America. We can actually see the profession
changing. Some core areas remain the same, but others, based on how the
raters assess and perceive HR, are new. (For more information, see .shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0607/0607grossman.asp#comp”>The Competencies and Their Elements.)
To some degree, the new competencies reflect a change in
nomenclature or a shuffling of the competency deck. However, there are some
key differences.
Five years ago, HRs role in managing culture was embedded
within a broader competency. Now its importance merits a competency of its
own. Knowledge of technology, a stand-alone competency in 2002, now appears
within Business Ally. In other instances, the new competencies carry
expectations that promise to change the way HR views its role. For example,
the Credible Activist calls for HR to eschew neutrality and to take a
standto practice the craft with an attitude.
To put the competencies in perspective, its helpful to
view them as a three-tier pyramid with Credible Activist at the pinnacle.
Credible Activist. This competency
is the top indicator in predicting overall outstanding performance,
suggesting that mastering it should be a priority. Youve got to be good at
all of them, but, no question, [this competency] is key, Ulrich says. But
you cant be a Credible Activist without having all the other competencies.
In a sense, its the whole package.
Its a deal breaker, agrees Dani Johnson, project manager
of the Human Resource Competency Study at The RBL Group in Salt Lake City.
If you dont come to the table with it, youre done. It permeates everything
you do.
The Credible Activist is at the heart of what it takes to
be an effective HR leader. The best HR people do not hold back; they step
forward and advocate for their position, says Susan Harmansky, SPHR, senior
director of domestic restaurant operations for HR at Papa Johns
International in Louisville, Ky., and former chair of the Human Resource
Certification Institute. CEOs are not waiting for HR to come in with optionsthey
want your recommendations; they want you to speak from your position as an
expert, similar to what you see from legal or finance executives.
You dont want to be credible without being an activist,
because essentially youre worthless to the business, Johnson says. People
like you, but you have no impact. On the other hand, you dont want to be an
activist without being credible. You can be dangerous in a situation like
that.
Below Credible Activist on the pyramid is a cluster of
three competencies: Cultural Steward, Talent Manager/Organizational Designer
and Strategy Architect.
Cultural Steward. HR has always
owned culture. But with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulatory pressures, and
CEOs relying more on HR to manage culture, this is the first time it has
emerged as an independent competency. Of the six competencies, Cultural Steward
is the second highest predictor of performance of both HR professionals and
HR departments.
Talent Manager/Organizational Designer.
Talent management focuses on how individuals enter, move up, across or out of
the organization. Organizational design centers on the policies, practices
and structure that shape how the organization works. Their linking reflects
Ulrichs belief that HR may be placing too much emphasis on talent
acquisition at the expense of organizational design. Talent management will
not succeed in the long run without an organizational structure that supports
it.
Strategy Architect. Strategy
Architects are able to recognize business trends and their impact on the
business, and to identify potential roadblocks and opportunities. Harmansky,
who recently joined Papa Johns, demonstrates how the Strategy Architect competency
helps HR contribute to the overall business strategy. In my first months
here, Im spending a lot of time traveling, going to see stores all over the
country. Every time I go to a store, while my counterparts of the management
team are talking about [operational aspects], Im talking to the people who
work there. Im trying to find out what the issues are surrounding people.
How do I develop them? Im looking for my business differentiator on the
people side so I can contribute to the strategy.
When Charlease Deathridge, SPHR, HR manager of McKee Foods
in Stuarts Draft, Va.,
identified a potential roadblock to implementing a new management philosophy,
she used the Strategy Architect competency. When we were rolling out lean
manufacturing principles at our location, we administered an employee
satisfaction survey to assess how the workers viewed the new system. The
satisfaction scores were lower than ideal. I showed [management] how a
negative could become a positive, how we could use the data and follow-up
surveys as a strategic tool to demonstrate progress.
Anchoring the pyramid at its base are two competencies that
Ulrich describes as table stakesnecessary but not sufficient. Except in China, where
HR is at an earlier stage in professional development and there is great
emphasis on transactional activities, these competencies are looked upon as
basic skills that everyone must have. There is some disappointing news here.
In the United States,
respondents rated significantly lower on these competencies than the
respondents surveyed in other countries.
Business Ally. HR contributes to the
success of a business by knowing how it makes money, who the customers are,
and why they buy the companys products and services. For HR professionals to
be Business Allies (and Credible Activists and Strategy Architects as well),
they should be what Ulrich describes as business literate. The mantra about
understanding the businesshow it works, the financials and strategic
issuesremains as important today as it did in every iteration of the survey
the past 20 years. Yet progress in this area continues to lag.
Even these high performers dont know the business as well
as they should, Ulrich says. In his travels, he gives HR audiences 10
questions to test their business literacy.
Operational Executor. These skills
tend to fall into the range of HR activities characterized as transactional
or legacy. Policies need to be drafted, adapted and implemented. Employees
need to be paid, relocated, hired, trained and more. Every function here is
essential, butas with the Business Ally competencyhigh-performing HR
managers seem to view them as less important and score higher on the other
competencies. Even some highly effective HR people may be running a risk in
paying too little attention to these nuts-and-bolts activities, Ulrich
observes.
Practical Tool
In conducting debriefings for people who participated in
the HRCS, Ulrich observes how delighted they are at the prescriptive nature
of the exercise. The individual feedback reports they receive (see .shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0607/0607grossman2.asp”>How the Study Was Done) offer them a road map,
and they are highly motivated to follow it.
Anyone who has been through a 360-degree appraisal knows
that criticism can be jarring. Its risky to open yourself up to others
opinions when you dont have to. Add the prospect of sharing the results with
your boss and colleagues who will be rating you, and you may decide to pass.
Still, its not surprising that highly motivated people like Deathridge
jumped at the chance for the free feedback.
All of it is not good, says Deathridge. You have to be
willing to face up to it. You go home, work it out and say, Why am I getting
this bad feedback?
But for Deathridge, the results mostly confirmed what she
already knew. I believe most people know where theyre weak or strong. For
me, it was most helpful to look at how close others ratings of me matched
with my own assessments. … Theres so much to learn about what it takes to
be a genuine leader, and this study helped a lot.
Deathridge says the individual feedback report she received
helped her realize the importance of taking a stand and developing her
Credible Activist competency. There was a situation where I had a line
manager who wanted to discipline someone, she recalls. In the past, I
wouldnt have been able to stand up as strongly as I did. I was able to be
very clear about how I felt. I told him that he had not done enough to
document the performance issue, and that if he wanted to institute discipline
it would have to be at the lowest level. In the past, I would have been more
deferential and said, Lets compromise and do it at step two or three. But
I didnt do it; I spoke out strongly and held my ground.
This was the second study for Shane Smith, director of HR
at Coca-Cola. I did it for the first time in 2002. Now Im seeing some
traction in the things Ive been working on. Im pleased to see the
consistency with my evaluations of my performance when compared to my
raters.
What It All Means
Ulrich believes that HR professionals who would have
succeeded 30, 20, even 10 years ago, are not as likely to succeed today. They
are expected to play new roles. To do so, they will need the new
competencies.
Ulrich urges HR to reflect on the new competencies and what
they reveal about the future of the HR profession. His message is direct and
unforgiving. Legacy HR work is going, and HR people who dont change with it
will be gone. Still, he remains optimistic that many in HR are heeding his
call. Twenty percent of HR people will never get it; 20 percent are really
top performing. The middle 60 percent are moving in the right direction,
says Ulrich.
Within that 60 percent there are HR professionals who may
be at the table but are not contributing fully, he adds. Thats the group I
want to talk to. … I want to show them what they need to do to have an
impact.
As a start, Ulrich recommends HR professionals consider
initiating three conversations. One is with your business leaders. Review
the competencies with them and ask them if youre doing them. Next, pose the
same questions to your HR team. Then, ask yourself whether you really know
the business or if youre glossing on the surface. Finally, set your
priorities. Our data say: Get working on that Credible Activist!
The Competencies and Their Elements
The six competencies and the elements that make them up
offer the outlines of what it takes to be successful. The Credible Activist
is respected, admired, listened to and offers a point of view, takes a
position and challenges assumptions by:
Delivering
results with integrity.
Sharing
information.
Building
relationships of trust.
Doing
HR with an attitude (taking appropriate risks, providing candid observations,
influencing others).
The Cultural Steward recognizes, articulates and helps
shape a companys culture by:
Facilitating change.
Crafting culture.
Valuing culture.
Personalizing culture (helping employees find meaning in
their work, managing work/life balance, encouraging innovation).
The Talent Manager/Organizational Designer masters theory,
research and practice in both talent management and organizational design by:
Ensuring
todays and tomorrows talent.
Developing
talent.
Shaping
the organization.
Fostering
communication.
Designing
reward systems.
The Strategy Architect knows how to make the right change
happen by:
Sustaining
strategic agility.
Engaging
customers.
The Business Ally contributes to the success of the
business by:
Serving
the value chain.
Interpreting
social context.
Articulating
the value proposition.
Leveraging
business technology.
The Operational Executor administers the day-to-day work of
managing people inside an organization by:
Implementing workplace policies.
Advancing HR technology.
Robert J. Grossman, a
contributing editor ofHR Magazine, is a lawyer and a professor of management
studies at Marist College in Poughkeepsie,
N.Y.
.shrm.org/hrmagazine/reprintsandpermissions/”>.gif” alt=”Reprints and permissions”>
.gif” alt=”SHRM”>
Society for Human Resource Management
1800 Duke
Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314
USA
Phone US Only: (800) 283-SHRM
Phone International: +1 (703) 548-3440
TTY/TDD (703) 548-6999
Fax (703) 535-6490
Questions? .shrm.org/help/”>Contact SHRM
Careers .shrm.org/jobs/career/”>Careers @ SHRM
Copyright
2007, Society for Human Resource Management
.shrm.org/privacy/”>SHRM Privacy
Statement | .shrm.org/privacy/cali.asp”>Your California Privacy Rights
.shrm.org/privacy/terms.asp”>Terms
under which this service is provided to you.
**********************************************************************Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.Working in the FutureJohn A ChallengerThe Futurist; Nov/Dec 2005; 39, 6; ABI/INFORM Globalpg. 47How Today’s Trends AreShaping Tomorrow’s JobsGlobalization, aging, and trends intechnology and society will createopportunities for Eco-Relations Managers,Retirement Consultants, andOutsourcing Coordinators.By John A. ChallengerThe workplace is constantly evolving. Over thelast 50 years we have seen radical changes in wherewe work, how we work, and when we work. Thesechanges are most readily evident in the job titlesthat have dramatically evolved over the years.In just the last decade or so, the dot-com, neweconomy era brought with it a plethora of new jobtitles, reflecting the nontraditional managementstyle these entrepreneurial ventures tried to create.Unique titles such as envisioner (Design ContinuumInc., 2000), idea ambassador (2think Inc., 2001), and directorof first impressions (Teltronics Inc., 1999) wereregularly featured in the pages of Fast Company, apublication chronicling the new economy. Some ofthe more mainstream job titles that have surfaced inrecent years include chief information officer, kernel engi.neer, and network security specialist.Job titles will continue to evolve over the next 20years as numerous trends alter the workplace landscape.Trends in technology, society, demographics,and the economy will inspire the job titles of tomor-PHOTOS: PHOTOS.COMTHE FUTURIST November-December 2005 47Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.row. The following are our top 10candidates.Manager of DiversityUntil recently, this executive mighthave been in charge of making surethe company’s payroll met diversitystandards and enforcing policies thatensured no group would be treateddifferently or affected adverselybecause of skin color, gender, religion,etc. Today, companies are movingbeyond the idea that diversityinitiatives are simply the politicallycorrect thing to do and have come torecognize the business benefits ofhaving a multicultural workforce.The overall U.S. population is becomingmore and more ethnically diverse.Having an equally diversepayroll means having employeeswho can literally and figurativelyspeak the language of the customers.Hispanics, in particular, accountedfor about one-half of U.S. populationgrowth between July 2003 and July2004. According to the U.S. CensusBureau’s most recent estimates, approximately14.3 million Hispanicslive in the United States.The manager of diversity will becharged with getting the maximumbenefit out of individuals’ uniquetraits, helping employees develop aculturally informed approach to customerservice, and tapping new potentialmarkets. For example, themanager of diversity might becharged with spearheading a marketinginitiative in an up-and-comingLatino neighborhood, or conductingWeb-based product surveysthrough popular Web sites in China,Latin America, and the Middle East.This manager might also develop avisiting-worker outreach center toassist employees from other countrieswith translation issues, find affordablehousing, obtain citizenship,or find low-cost language instruction.Offshore Outsourcing CoordinatorOffshore outsourcing is one of themore controversial trends in today’sworkplace. Regardless, that trend islikely to continue for the foreseeablefuture. According to the InformationU.S. Jobs Created and DisplacedThrough Outsourcing600,000 .,——————-.Technology Associationof America, spending onglobal outsourcing in thefields of computer softwareand services is expectedto grow to $31 billionby 2008. More thanhalf of the new jobs createdin that field will goU)..CJ-S50Q;..CJE:::J zQ) >~E:::J(_)500,000400,000300,000200,000100,0002000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008Non-IT and IT Jobs Created IT Software and ServiceJobs Displacedoffshore. The U.S. economyis expected to create516,000 new jobs in thesoftware and servicesarea within the next fiveSource: Global Insight, Inc.years. Of those 516,000 jobs, as manyas 272,000 are also expected to go outof the United States.. While the practice of outsourcingis thought by many to be a destroyerof American jobs, it is likely to createmore jobs than it eliminates. A growingnumber of economists agree thatoutsourcing contributes to increasedproductivity and helps keep inflationin check. Higher productivityand lower prices for goods will helpthe economy create new jobs. TheBureau of Labor Statistics has estimatedthat total employment islikely to increase from 144 millionjobs in 2002 to 165 million by 2012,largely as a result of outsourcing.One job that may be created is thatof offshore outsourcing coordinator.Companies cannot simply contractwith an overseas service providerand then sit back while key decisionsare made without them. Firms thatchoose to outsource services musthave a representative on hand to ensurethat outsourcing providers aremeeting certain standards, that thework is being done to everyone’ssatisfaction, and that customer servicedoes not suffer. The outsourcingcoordinator will also look for newoutsourcing opportunities and willassess the costs and benefits of each.This person may also be in chargeof assisting workers whose jobs havebeen dissolved or moved abroad. Heor she may set up a displacedworkerinsurance fund to providedownsized workers with a financialcushion during their transition period,to augment unemployment insurance.The coordinator could alsodevelop a retraining program to helpdisplaced staff prepare themselvesfor the new jobs that the economywill create.Corporate Age AdviserWith a growing number of individualsover the age of 65 comingback to work, companies will soonsee the age range of their workersspan four generations. According tothe U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,workers over the age of 55 are expectedto grow from 14% of the laborforce to 19% by 2012.Having such a diverse workforcewill prove beneficial for organizationsthat are able to manage the differentwork styles of each generation.Companies that fail to do this,however, may see age conflicts develop,which could, in tum, lead to adecrease in productivity.To help companies manage thedelicate balance between generations,a new breed of consultant willemerge: the corporate age adviser.This consultant will mediate disagreementsbetween age groups, ensurethat each department has theright mix of generations to achieveits goals, and increase the harmonybetween groups. A corporate age advisermight also be in charge of recruitinga customer-service team tomarket to the age 65 and older demographic.The age adviser will bein constant negotiation with powerfulseniors groups like AARP, bothon the national and chapter level, toobtain product endorsements andnegotiate promotional partnerships.Retirement ConsultantIn less than five years, 77 million48 THE FUTURIST November-December 2005Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.baby boomers in the United Stateswill begin reaching age 65, thetraditional retirement age. Already,the concept of retirement is undergoinga radical evolution. While manyAmericans will be financially preparedfor their later years, not all ofthem will be emotionally ready forthe transition. Many people reach retirementand discover that readingor playing golf is not as appealing asit once seemed. New business opportunitieswill arise as advances intechnology elongate the human lifespan and the percentage of the populationaged 65 and older continuesto grow. One of those new opportunitieswill be the field of retirementconsulting.Such a service will be in high demand,especially in dual-incomehouseholds where both partners retirearound the same time. The adjustmentof going from a situationwhere both individuals are workingto where both are retired will be difficultto manage. Retirement consultingprofessionals will help thesecouples cope with the changes anddiscover what they want to do intheir retirement. This consultantcould provide valuable advice on arange of issues, from stretching andgrowing a fixed-income account togetting the most out of one’s freetime. The retirement consultant mayhelp an individual determine if he orshe was well suited for entrepreneurshipor volunteer work. If theclient is looking toward a careerchange, the consultant could helppoint toward the most suitable “retirementcareer.”Automotive Repair TechnicianThe era of the archetypal, not-sovery-bright car mechanic is officiallyover. The average new automobilefeatures more onboard computerizationthan the Apollo 13 spacecraft.Cars like the Infiniti FX feature navigationsystems that instantly providetraffic data and offer alternativeroutes. In the near future, more carswill come equipped with assistedbraking that will automatically slowthe vehicle when it gets too close toanother.Tomorrow’s automotive repairtechnician will have to be computerliterate in addition to being highlyskilled in the fundamentals of automotiverepair. He or she will need toknow how operate complicated computerdiagnostic programs and befamiliar with an enormous variety ofmachines and parts. Entrepreneurialcar technicians in the future will dialoguewith car companies to get thebest prices for computer upgrades inthe same way that auto garages todayoften compete to get the bestdeal on parts from manufacturers.Future car technicians might alsohold workshops to teach customershow to use the newest in-car softwareas it becomes available.Corporate HistorianCorporations, like people, havememories. Just as our memories determineour personality, inform ourgoals, and influence our direction inlife, the same is true for corporations.A company’s memory comprisesthe collective business experiences,dramas, visions, successes,and failures of real people who workfor the firm. Companies draw oncorporate memory’s lessons eachtime they solve problems, sell productsand services, interact with customers,develop new technologies,or design marketing campaigns.As more workers reach the officialretirement age in the coming years,companies both large and small willface the prospect of a serious memorydrain. To prevent this, firms willneed an ongoing and detailed recordof projects, programs, problems, solutions,results, etc., in a computerizeddatabase. When future problemsarise, a corporate historian willcross-reference the database for similarcases and create a report containingpossible strategies and outcomes.The system will be especially helpfulas more companies expand nationallyand internationally. For example,a plant manager in Mexicofacing quality-control problems mayaccess the memory database andfind that a similar problem occurredin Singapore. That plant managerwill be able to consult a detailed reportof every action that was undertakento diagnose and fix the problem.Such a report might eveninclude a list of outside contractorsthat were called to resolve the issue,and a review of each contractor’sperformance. The corporate historianwill ensure that the informationin the report is relevant, accurate,and easily accessible.Chief Health OfficerAs corporate health-care costs continueto spiral out of control, manycompanies will consider abandoningemployer-sponsored health insurance.Every company, regardless ofthe coverage they offer their employees,has a financial interest in keepingtheir workers as healthy as possible.Unscheduled absenteeism or”sick days” cost employers an averageof $610 per employee every year(2004 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey).In the future, more companieswill insist that their workers followcertain health practices in order tohelp contain these expenses. OneMichigan company has already establisheda policy forbidding itsworkers from smoking-even off thejob. Other companies are encouragingemployees to lose weight and exercisemore. Some companies havewell-equipped exercise areas.An in-house health-care officercould oversee a variety of corporatewellness programs. The officermight rewrite the company’s healthinsurancepolicy to account for demographicshifts that occur withinthe company over time. He or shemight also conduct longitudinalstudies to pinpoint the sorts of illnessesthat the company’s employeessuffer from most frequently, andthen make appropriate recommendationsto management. The officermight manage a small staff, includinga corporate nutritionist and apersonal training professional.Eco-Relations ManagerCompanies are finding out that itpays to be green. According to thegroup Lifestyles of Health and Sus-THE FUTURIST November-December 2005 49Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.tainability, the U.S. market for sustainableproducts and services wasestimated at $76.5 billion at the endof 2004. In an effort to tap into thismarket, General Electric recently announceda new initiative dubbed”ecomagination” that will focus onthe research and development ofeco-friendly products and services.Both Republican and Democrat leadersare eager to help private enterprisedevelop greener products andpractices. The Bush administrationhas called for tax incentives totaling$4 billion through 2009 to promotecleaner and more energy-efficienttechnologies.The payoff of a greener economycould be substantial in terms of newjobs. A study by the Wisconsin EnergyBureau concluded that investmentin renewable energy createsthree times as many jobs as the samelevel of spending on fossil fuels.One job that could result is that ofeco-relations manager, who will coordinateefforts to seek eco-friendlypolicies, products, vendors, etc. Thisperson will communicate and workwith consumers, environmentalgroups, and government agencies todevelop and maximize ecologicalprograms. For example, an ecorelationsmanager might conductenvironmental-impact surveys priorto the construction of new companyfacilities. He or she might work withCongress to acquire federal grants tohelp the company meet new fuelefficiencystandards. This managerwould also arbitrate between suppliersto find the best price for energysavingdevices, such as photovoltaicsolar panels or bulk recycled material.Manager of Faith-BasedRelations and InitiativesAs business becomes increasinglyglobal, companies are encounteringa growing diversity of religions. Insome areas of the world, religion canplay a powerful role in consumerhabits.Even in the United States, conservativereligious groups are gainingpower and are more willing to flexthat power to influence political aswell as consumer behavior. Presi-The Manager of Faith-Based Relationswill work to ensure that the demands ofwork don’t interfere with the demands ofreligious faith, and vice-versa.dent Bush has made faith-based andcommunity services a centerpiece ofhis administration. Faith-based organizationsreceived $2 billion infederal funding in 2004.As religious groups use the powerof their growing numbers to effectchange, companies with religiouslydiverse workforces will have to establisha special representative towork with these parties to ensurethat lines of communication remainopen.The manager of faith-based relationswill work to mediate the demandsof work and religious faith.He or she will also seek out newbusiness opportunities connected toreligion in society. This managermight also oversee how companygoods and services are marketedabroad, especially in places like theMiddle East where the decision ofwhat product to market is as importantas the manner in which thatproduct is marketed. Another job forthis manager might be organizingvolunteer information sessions tohelp employees better interact withtheir colleagues of different religiousbackgrounds.Coordinator of WorkforceDevelopment and ContinuingEducationSevere labor shortages are likely toreturn in the next decade. Somecompanies may begin feeling thepinch within the next few years. Certainindustries, such as health care,are already suffering.Ironically, even as society becomesmore dependent on technology, com-50 THE FUTURIST November-December 2005panies in the future will face a shortageof technologically skilled workers.Fewer young people now entercollege on a technology-orientedtrack. A survey of colleges foundthat enrollment in key courses forcomputer science majors was downanywhere from 10% to 30% in 2002.The skills gap will be evident notjust in tech, but in all aspects of businessas students continue to lackproficiency in written and verbalcommunications, organizationalskills, and problem solving.Employers have a vested interestin making sure that there are jobsand skilled workers to fill them domestically,if for no other reason thanthat these companies rely on thosesame workers to consume theirproducts and services. This is wherethe coordinator of future workforcedevelopment and continuing educationwill assist.This coordinator might manage aprogram to help qualified employeesattain advanced degrees in theirareas of specialty. He or she wouldrun a series of Web-based informationsessions to teach employeeshow to use the latest software, or organizea “tech retreat” for the samepurpose. Finally, the coordinatorcould manage a “virtual internship”program to tap talented youth acrossthe world and expand the company’stechnological knowledge base.Business as a whole can work toclose the skills gap by contributingto school-to-work programs, particularlyprograms reaching down to theelementary-school level. Unfortunately,federal funding that helpscommunities establish such programshas been cut in recent years. Suchprograms will be instrumental indeveloping the future workforce. 0About the AuthorJohn A. Challenger is chiefexecutive officer of globaloutplacement firm Challenger,Gray & ChristmasInc. From 1999 to 2002, heserved on the Labor andHuman Resource Committeeof the Federal Reserve Bank ofChicago. His address is 150 South WackerDrive, 27th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60606.WEEK
1 ASSIGNMENT 1HRMD610PART
A: Discussion
should be started NLT Day 4.
Before you read anything in
the textbook or in the class, think about a time
when you have had contact with a human resource department.
Think about what this
department did for the organization and its employees.
What are your impressions of
this department.For example, was it off-site, perhaps at a corporate
location; isolated, handling paperwork or visibly present in the company,
mingling with employees? In other words,
what did this HR department do in or for the organization?
Share your thoughts about the
role and activities of this human resource department in the Week 1 “What
is HR” Discussion area.
Respond to at least two others’
posts on two separate days. Be sure to
read any responses to or questions about your post.,Now, move to Part B.PART
B: Read/view
these resources to complete the assignment:
Read the reading assignments
for Week 1 in the textbook(s) and Course Content.
Read articles in Reserved
Readings, New Competencies for HRand Working in the Future
View these five (5) videos:HR ROLE
MODELS VIDEO (in five parts)Time
(min:sec).shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRRoleModelsIntro.aspx”>http://www.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRRoleModelsIntro.aspxIntro:
2:18.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRRoleModels.aspx”>http://www.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRRoleModels.aspxHR Role
Models: 10:29.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRinSync.aspx”>http://www.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRinSync.aspxHR in
Sync: 16:43.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRinHighTechLargeCo.aspx”>http://www.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/09HRinHighTechLargeCo.aspxHR in
Hi-Tech Large Co: 16:09.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/HRinHighTechSmallCo.aspx”>http://www.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/HRinHighTechSmallCo.aspxHR in
Hi-Tech Small Co: 18:59Total Time:1 hour
4 minutes (64
minutes)Then, completePART
C: To complete the assignment:
Revisit your thoughts posted in
Part A, above.
Compare these to what you
learned in the items in Part B.
Address the differences and
similarities between them. What
surprised you?
Complete in an MS Word
document, format in APA style, please, including, but not limited to:
Double-spacing, indentation,
running head with your name and the assignment number, plus page numbers, etc.
Maximum 3-4 pages
Add a reference page, which
would include the resources provided, the textbooks used, the video, and the HR
Competency article.
Submit to Week 1 Assignment
area.DUE: Day 7, Week
1.shrm.org/hrmagazine/07June”>.jpg” alt=”HR magazine, june 2007″>
.shrm.org/hrmagazine/07June”>June
2007
Vol. 52, No. 6New Competencies for HRResearchers
have updated the portfolio of competencies for high-performing HR
professionals.
By .shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0607/0607grossman.asp#ek”>Robert J. GrossmanWhat does it take to make it big in HR? What skills and
expertise do you need? Since 1988, Dave Ulrich, professor of business
administration at the University
of Michigan, and his
associates have been on a quest to provide the answers. This year, theyve
released an all-new 2007 Human Resource Competency Study (HRCS). The findings
and interpretations lay out professional guidance for HR for at least the
next few years. People want to know what set of skills high-achieving HR
people need to perform even better, says Ulrich, co-director of the project
along with Wayne Brockbank, also a professor of business at the University of Michigan. Conducted under the auspices of the Ross School of Business
at the University of Michigan and The RBL Group in Salt Lake City, with
regional partners including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
in North America and other institutions in Latin America, Europe, China and
Australia, HRCS is the longest-running, most extensive global HR competency
study in existence. In reaching our conclusions, weve looked across more
than 400 companies and are able to report with statistical accuracy what HR
executives say and do, Ulrich says. The research continues to demonstrate the dynamic nature
of the human resource management profession, says SHRM President and CEO
Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR. The findings also highlight what an exciting time
it is to be in the profession. We continue to have the ability to really add
value to an organization. HRCS is foundational work that is really important to HR
as a profession, says Cynthia McCague, senior vice president of the
Coca-Cola Co., who participated in the study. They have created and continue
to enhance a framework for thinking about how HR drives organizational
performance. Whats New Researchers identified six core competencies that
high-performing HR professionals embody. These supersede the five
competencies outlined in the 2002 HRCSthe last study publishedreflecting
the continuing evolution of the HR profession. Each competency is broken out
into performance elements. This is the fifth round, so we can look at past models and
compare where the profession is going, says Evren Esen, survey program
manager at SHRM, which provided the sample of HR professionals surveyed in North America. We can actually see the profession
changing. Some core areas remain the same, but others, based on how the
raters assess and perceive HR, are new. (For more information, see .shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0607/0607grossman.asp#comp”>The Competencies and Their Elements.) To some degree, the new competencies reflect a change in
nomenclature or a shuffling of the competency deck. However, there are some
key differences. Five years ago, HRs role in managing culture was embedded
within a broader competency. Now its importance merits a competency of its
own. Knowledge of technology, a stand-alone competency in 2002, now appears
within Business Ally. In other instances, the new competencies carry
expectations that promise to change the way HR views its role. For example,
the Credible Activist calls for HR to eschew neutrality and to take a
standto practice the craft with an attitude. To put the competencies in perspective, its helpful to
view them as a three-tier pyramid with Credible Activist at the pinnacle. Credible Activist. This competency
is the top indicator in predicting overall outstanding performance,
suggesting that mastering it should be a priority. Youve got to be good at
all of them, but, no question, [this competency] is key, Ulrich says. But
you cant be a Credible Activist without having all the other competencies.
In a sense, its the whole package. Its a deal breaker, agrees Dani Johnson, project manager
of the Human Resource Competency Study at The RBL Group in Salt Lake City.
If you dont come to the table with it, youre done. It permeates everything
you do. The Credible Activist is at the heart of what it takes to
be an effective HR leader. The best HR people do not hold back; they step
forward and advocate for their position, says Susan Harmansky, SPHR, senior
director of domestic restaurant operations for HR at Papa Johns
International in Louisville, Ky., and former chair of the Human Resource
Certification Institute. CEOs are not waiting for HR to come in with optionsthey
want your recommendations; they want you to speak from your position as an
expert, similar to what you see from legal or finance executives. You dont want to be credible without being an activist,
because essentially youre worthless to the business, Johnson says. People
like you, but you have no impact. On the other hand, you dont want to be an
activist without being credible. You can be dangerous in a situation like
that. Below Credible Activist on the pyramid is a cluster of
three competencies: Cultural Steward, Talent Manager/Organizational Designer
and Strategy Architect. Cultural Steward. HR has always
owned culture. But with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulatory pressures, and
CEOs relying more on HR to manage culture, this is the first time it has
emerged as an independent competency. Of the six competencies, Cultural Steward
is the second highest predictor of performance of both HR professionals and
HR departments. Talent Manager/Organizational Designer.
Talent management focuses on how individuals enter, move up, across or out of
the organization. Organizational design centers on the policies, practices
and structure that shape how the organization works. Their linking reflects
Ulrichs belief that HR may be placing too much emphasis on talent
acquisition at the expense of organizational design. Talent management will
not succeed in the long run without an organizational structure that supports
it. Strategy Architect. Strategy
Architects are able to recognize business trends and their impact on the
business, and to identify potential roadblocks and opportunities. Harmansky,
who recently joined Papa Johns, demonstrates how the Strategy Architect competency
helps HR contribute to the overall business strategy. In my first months
here, Im spending a lot of time traveling, going to see stores all over the
country. Every time I go to a store, while my counterparts of the management
team are talking about [operational aspects], Im talking to the people who
work there. Im trying to find out what the issues are surrounding people.
How do I develop them? Im looking for my business differentiator on the
people side so I can contribute to the strategy. When Charlease Deathridge, SPHR, HR manager of McKee Foods
in Stuarts Draft, Va.,
identified a potential roadblock to implementing a new management philosophy,
she used the Strategy Architect competency. When we were rolling out lean
manufacturing principles at our location, we administered an employee
satisfaction survey to assess how the workers viewed the new system. The
satisfaction scores were lower than ideal. I showed [management] how a
negative could become a positive, how we could use the data and follow-up
surveys as a strategic tool to demonstrate progress. Anchoring the pyramid at its base are two competencies that
Ulrich describes as table stakesnecessary but not sufficient. Except in China, where
HR is at an earlier stage in professional development and there is great
emphasis on transactional activities, these competencies are looked upon as
basic skills that everyone must have. There is some disappointing news here.
In the United States,
respondents rated significantly lower on these competencies than the
respondents surveyed in other countries. Business Ally. HR contributes to the
success of a business by knowing how it makes money, who the customers are,
and why they buy the companys products and services. For HR professionals to
be Business Allies (and Credible Activists and Strategy Architects as well),
they should be what Ulrich describes as business literate. The mantra about
understanding the businesshow it works, the financials and strategic
issuesremains as important today as it did in every iteration of the survey
the past 20 years. Yet progress in this area continues to lag. Even these high performers dont know the business as well
as they should, Ulrich says. In his travels, he gives HR audiences 10
questions to test their business literacy. Operational Executor. These skills
tend to fall into the range of HR activities characterized as transactional
or legacy. Policies need to be drafted, adapted and implemented. Employees
need to be paid, relocated, hired, trained and more. Every function here is
essential, butas with the Business Ally competencyhigh-performing HR
managers seem to view them as less important and score higher on the other
competencies. Even some highly effective HR people may be running a risk in
paying too little attention to these nuts-and-bolts activities, Ulrich
observes. Practical Tool In conducting debriefings for people who participated in
the HRCS, Ulrich observes how delighted they are at the prescriptive nature
of the exercise. The individual feedback reports they receive (see .shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0607/0607grossman2.asp”>How the Study Was Done) offer them a road map,
and they are highly motivated to follow it. Anyone who has been through a 360-degree appraisal knows
that criticism can be jarring. Its risky to open yourself up to others
opinions when you dont have to. Add the prospect of sharing the results with
your boss and colleagues who will be rating you, and you may decide to pass.
Still, its not surprising that highly motivated people like Deathridge
jumped at the chance for the free feedback. All of it is not good, says Deathridge. You have to be
willing to face up to it. You go home, work it out and say, Why am I getting
this bad feedback? But for Deathridge, the results mostly confirmed what she
already knew. I believe most people know where theyre weak or strong. For
me, it was most helpful to look at how close others ratings of me matched
with my own assessments. … Theres so much to learn about what it takes to
be a genuine leader, and this study helped a lot. Deathridge says the individual feedback report she received
helped her realize the importance of taking a stand and developing her
Credible Activist competency. There was a situation where I had a line
manager who wanted to discipline someone, she recalls. In the past, I
wouldnt have been able to stand up as strongly as I did. I was able to be
very clear about how I felt. I told him that he had not done enough to
document the performance issue, and that if he wanted to institute discipline
it would have to be at the lowest level. In the past, I would have been more
deferential and said, Lets compromise and do it at step two or three. But
I didnt do it; I spoke out strongly and held my ground. This was the second study for Shane Smith, director of HR
at Coca-Cola. I did it for the first time in 2002. Now Im seeing some
traction in the things Ive been working on. Im pleased to see the
consistency with my evaluations of my performance when compared to my
raters. What It All Means Ulrich believes that HR professionals who would have
succeeded 30, 20, even 10 years ago, are not as likely to succeed today. They
are expected to play new roles. To do so, they will need the new
competencies. Ulrich urges HR to reflect on the new competencies and what
they reveal about the future of the HR profession. His message is direct and
unforgiving. Legacy HR work is going, and HR people who dont change with it
will be gone. Still, he remains optimistic that many in HR are heeding his
call. Twenty percent of HR people will never get it; 20 percent are really
top performing. The middle 60 percent are moving in the right direction,
says Ulrich. Within that 60 percent there are HR professionals who may
be at the table but are not contributing fully, he adds. Thats the group I
want to talk to. … I want to show them what they need to do to have an
impact. As a start, Ulrich recommends HR professionals consider
initiating three conversations. One is with your business leaders. Review
the competencies with them and ask them if youre doing them. Next, pose the
same questions to your HR team. Then, ask yourself whether you really know
the business or if youre glossing on the surface. Finally, set your
priorities. Our data say: Get working on that Credible Activist! The Competencies and Their ElementsThe six competencies and the elements that make them up
offer the outlines of what it takes to be successful. The Credible Activist
is respected, admired, listened to and offers a point of view, takes a
position and challenges assumptions by: Delivering
results with integrity. Sharing
information. Building
relationships of trust. Doing
HR with an attitude (taking appropriate risks, providing candid observations,
influencing others). The Cultural Steward recognizes, articulates and helps
shape a companys culture by:
Facilitating change.
Crafting culture.
Valuing culture.
Personalizing culture (helping employees find meaning in
their work, managing work/life balance, encouraging innovation). The Talent Manager/Organizational Designer masters theory,
research and practice in both talent management and organizational design by:
Ensuring
todays and tomorrows talent. Developing
talent. Shaping
the organization. Fostering
communication. Designing
reward systems. The Strategy Architect knows how to make the right change
happen by: Sustaining
strategic agility. Engaging
customers. The Business Ally contributes to the success of the
business by: Serving
the value chain. Interpreting
social context. Articulating
the value proposition. Leveraging
business technology. The Operational Executor administers the day-to-day work of
managing people inside an organization by:
Implementing workplace policies.
Advancing HR technology. Robert J. Grossman, a
contributing editor ofHR Magazine, is a lawyer and a professor of management
studies at Marist College in Poughkeepsie,
N.Y. .shrm.org/hrmagazine/reprintsandpermissions/”>.gif” alt=”Reprints and permissions”> .gif” alt=”SHRM”>Society for Human Resource Management1800 Duke
Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314
USA
Phone US Only: (800) 283-SHRM
Phone International: +1 (703) 548-3440
TTY/TDD (703) 548-6999
Fax (703) 535-6490
Questions? .shrm.org/help/”>Contact SHRM
Careers .shrm.org/jobs/career/”>Careers @ SHRM Copyright
2007, Society for Human Resource Management
.shrm.org/privacy/”>SHRM Privacy
Statement | .shrm.org/privacy/cali.asp”>Your California Privacy Rights
.shrm.org/privacy/terms.asp”>Terms
under which this service is provided to you.
